Card Design: Gerda Steiner Designs Progressive Challenge…March

Hello there! It is time to get my progressive card for the Gerda Steiner Designs Progressive Challenge uploaded. Before I start I just want to give an apology to my followers and friends as I have not had the time to create a St. Patrick's Day freebie. Sadly, nor will I have the time to do an Easter one. My life has sort of imploded and I'm dealing with a chaotic mess in my personal life. As such my time on the computer has been cut back considerably each day. I hope that you guys understand. As it is, I'm desperate just to try and fulfil all my challenge commitments and of course getting my progressive challenge cards done too. Thankfully, I managed to get this month's project for Gerda completed on time.

Check out the adorable image that we got to work with this month...

Everyone who played along in last month's challenge received Cat in Bookshelf for free. If you decide to hop on and play along in the Gerda Steiner Designs Progressive Challenge, then you can purchase this digital by clicking HERE (or on the watermark above to head to its location in the store). This way you'll receive next month's digital stamp for free.

Here is my project and related details...

General Info:

• This bookmark has been created 100% digitally and then layered in a Mock Up (courtesy of Frisk Shop). I will print it out and assemble it a later date.
• This is the perfect image to make a bookmark. My current one has almost fallen apart and it will also make a great Mother's Day gift as well, if I could only get it printed and sent on time...sigh...

FRONT

 Digital Image Details:

• Cat in Bookshelf : You can find this image in the store. Details above. 
• This image was coloured with a combo of techniques including digital and paper-piecing. Other credits include: 
• The 'wallpaper' is a digi paper courtesy of The CoffeeShop Blog
• The mouse was paper pieced with a fur texture from My Free Textures
• The cat was paper pieced with a fur texture from Kues1 - Freepik.com
•  The wood in the shelf was created from an image courtesy of FW Studio

INSIDE

 
Digital Sentiment Details: 

• One of my own.

OVERALL

 View of what the front and back combined look like...

View of what the inside combined looks like...

 Both will be folded in the middle and then glued back to front with magnets added on lower bottom corners.

Digital Paper Products:

• The paw prints in the heart shapes digi paper is one that I created that will be part of an upcoming mini kit for The 12 Months of Christmas if I can ever manage to get it finished!!!

 Digital Embellishments:

• I have used basic shapes in Photoshop Elements to create matting in behind the image and the sentiment. 
• I have applied shadow layer styles to give certain elements some depth. These styles were designed by Sheila Reid, Pixel Scrapper.

Challenges I am entering:

• Gerda Steiner Designs Progressive Challenge

Challenges I am hoping to enter...

• http://www.wordartwednesday.blogspot.ca/ (5E)-- Anything Goes
• http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.ca/ -- Anything Goes
• http://inspirationdestinationchallengeblog.blogspot.ca/ -- Always Anything Goes
• http://lilpatchofcraftyfriends.blogspot.com.au (3E) (Max 10) -- Anything Goes
• http://www.craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.ca/ (3E) -- Always Anything Goes 

Well guys, that is it for this one. Take care all and for those of you who celebrate, I wish you a wonderful Easter weekend!

Until next time,

I'm Sponsoring...The Outlawz Challenge Blog

 
Hello there! Once again I am honoured to be sponsoring the latest challenge over at the Outlawz Challenge Blog. While you do have to sign in over at Outlawz, it is free to be a member and there is a different challenge every day of the week to keep you busy. Every Monday it is the Greeting Cards Challenge. That is the one that I am sponsoring this week.The rules of the challenge are that your project must have a greeting/sentiment on the outside. The theme this week is Animal Antics. The weekly winner is announced at the beginning of the following week and the prizes are awarded monthly.
 
Now for this challenge I decided to allow members to use any of my designs that they could make work for their project.  

The prize for the winner is the following Floral Cats Kit...

 

To help provide some incentive, I am offering up a free special cat themed paper that I made especially for this challenge...

While it would work for the challenge, it would also be great for any upcoming Hallowe'en card you need to create. This paper is 3600 x 3600 pixels (i.e. 12 inches), in jpg format and published at 300 dpi. Credits include: Open Clipart Vectors (Pixabay). To grab it, click the download button to be taken to a download location. In the zip folder you will find a copy of the paper, its preview sheet, the credit information and my terms of use which are standard to all my folders.

You can find out all the details you need to enter the challenge over at the Outlawz Challenge Blog. To head there now, click HERE but don't forget you need sign in to play. I hope to see some of you there! 

Until next time,

I'm Sponsoring...Show Us Your Pussies Cat Lover's Challenge Blog

Oh dear! I have another sponsorship that I should have told you about at the beginning of July. My good friend Ike has opened a new challenge blog and I am fortunate enough to have been asked to sponsor this month's challenge over at the Show Us Your Pussies Cat Lover's Challenge Blog.   

The current challenge started on July 5th and will run until midnight on August 1st (EET).  The theme for this month is Flowers. You can make any project you like (i.e., cards, mixed media, scrapbook pages, etc.) but it must have a CAT as the main feature and include some FLOWERS. There is no restriction to the number of times you can enter and you can use any image company that you like.

The prize for the winner is the following Floral Cats Kit that I created especially for this challenge...
 

 

To help provide some incentive, I'm offering up one of the paper pieced floral cat silhouettes as a freebie...

 

This paper pieced floral cat silhouette is 1396 x 1920 pixels in png format and published at 300 dpi.  Credits include: Lohrelei (Pixabay), and Trine Secher. To grab it, click the download button to be taken to a download location.  In the zip folder you will find a copy of the image, its preview sheet, the credit information and my terms of use which are standard to all my folders.

You can find out all the details you need to enter the challenge over at Show Us Your Pussies Cat Lover's Challenge Blog.  To head to the challenge, click HERE.  I hope to see some of you there! 

Until next time,

Card Design: Digi Darla's Challenge #83--Fall Into Fall Vibrant Colours (COPY CAT)

Hello!  I sincerely hope that you all had a good weekend.  Mine was a bit hectic with lots of behind the scenes computer work, blog posting, card creating and prepping for the week ahead.  Part of all this work has been in preparation for the fact that I'm going to be away from the computer for the majority of today and tomorrow as my parents are in town.  I haven't seen them since our trip to London, ON, in June, so I am rather excited.  So it is time to get on with the work I need to complete in order to spend some time away from what has become my full time job--this blog, the challenge blog and everything they both entail along with a few other obligations I've picked up over the past six months.  However, I am not complaining.  I haven't felt this fulfilled in many, many years!

Part of these duties is telling you all about the latest challenge going on over at the delicious Digi Darla's Challenges Blog. This week for Challenge #83 the theme is "Fall Into Fall:  Vibrant Colours".  It is my turn this month to pick the challenge themes and I really hope you like what I have come up with. This week it is all about colour with the fall season upon us in many parts of the world.  The Canadian Thanksgiving will be celebrated next Monday and the American one will soon be here too.  The air is crisp and it is that time of the year when the leaves on the trees change, leaving us a beautiful colour palette in nature to behold.   So, we can't wait to see your brightly coloured fall themed creations.  Now it also happens to be our copy cat challenge for the month and you know what that means--there is a free image waiting for you over on the challenge blog to use in this week's entry.  It is a cute one too so don't miss out on playing along.

Since you need to use the image we are giving away on your project, that means that everyone is eligible for the opportunity to win eight images!  How awesome is that!

 Here are the card and details, I hope I haven't forgotten anything... 

General Comments: 

• I am finally getting in the habit of using some of my own creations in my card making.  I'd love to do it more but the cost of ink makes it prohibitive.  At least I'm managing small bits and pieces.
• Given that this card is going to my parents, it is nice that there are lots of pieces of 'me' in it.

FRONT

 Digital Image:

• Fall Kitty:  As mentioned above, the image used this week is the copycat image so you can find it over on the challenge blog. 
• The image was coloured with Copic Markers.  Cat:  R20, YR21, YR23, E23.  Collar:  R20, R22.  Leaves:  Y35, Y38, R14, R17, YG61, YG63.  Grass:  YG61, YG63, YG67.  The sky was done with a blend of three coloured pencils; unfortunately it is difficult to see.

 INSIDE

Digital Sentiment: 

• This is another great autumn sentiment from my collection of TLC Creations.  Click HERE to go to Paulette's blog and HERE to go to the store.  I wasn't able to find the image in the store, so if you can't find it and you are interested in purchasing it, be sure to contact Paulette.

• I coloured the sentiment in Publisher before printing it out, so that it would match my other colours choices.

OVERALL
Paper Products:

• Card base: Michael's Recollection's Card Kit, white, sm.
• Digital Designer Papers:  
• Green textured paper and the leaves paper are ones I created, available in the same post HERE.
• Green (matting front and inside, plus extra strip) and orange cardstock (strip on front)--Michael's open stock scrapbook paper. 

So, how about you come on over and show us YOUR wonderful talents by entering in our current challenge this week over at Digi Darla's Challenges?  While you are there please check out the great projects from the rest of the design team.  We always look forward to seeing the delightful creations you come up with. 

Until next time,

Card Design: Delightful Inspiration August Challenge

It is time for me to post my card for the Delightful Inspiration progressive stamp of the month challenge.  In order to enter this challenge, you must either have received the latest image by having participated in the previous month or you can buy the stamp for the current month's challenge.  Everyone who enters and follows the rules is a winner because you automatically get the stamp for the next month's challenge.  Stop by the site and check out the rules for yourself.  While you are there, have a look around.  They have some really great images.  Below you will find the card I'm entering for the August challenge.

Here are my card and details, I hope I haven't forgotten anything...

General Information:

• Phew...wasn't sure I was going to get this one done and in on time.  I've just a few hours to go before the challenge closes.  I haven't had to push it this close in a couple of months and I hate the feeling.  Here's my advice.  DON'T GET SICK! It really does bad things with your time management.
• This card has a long journey to make so I wanted to keep it pretty flat. 
• I also wanted the opportunity to use up some of my scraps so I decided to create a number of flags or pennants or whatever you want to call them and kept things pretty clean and simple.
• There are a couple people I know celebrating 50th birthdays soon.  I thought that this image and sentiment were 'purrfect' for the occasion.

 FRONT 

Digital Image:

• The image on the front, Cat's out of the Bag, is available for purchase over at Delightful Inspirations.  Click HERE to go to its location in the store.  It is just too cute for its own good!

• The majority of the image was coloured with Copics.   Cat:  YR000, YR00, YR02, Colourless blender, N0, C3, R20, R22.  Mice:  Colourless blender, N0, C3, R20, R22.  Bag: BG10, BG15.
•  The sky and grass were added in with chalks.

Digital Sentiment:

• Cat's out of the Bag:  This cute sentiment, perfectly punacious, is part of the great set available from Delightful Inspirations.  Not only do we get a fabulous image each month, we also get some cute sentiments as well.

 INSIDE

Digital Sentiment:

• Congrats:  Also part of the same set.
• Rest of the sentiment is just one I whipped up in Publisher.

OVERALL
Paper Products:

• Card base: Michael's Recollection's Card Set, small.
• Designer Papers:  Scraps from various pads mentioned in previous posts. 
• Teal paper used for matting is Michael's open stock scrapbook paper.
  

Challenges I hope to enter:

Delightful Inspiration -- progressive stamp of the month challenge 

 
Well, that is post number six done for today (two of the posts were for two other blogs).  I think I am done today.  I start again tomorrow so I hope I'll see you then.  EDIT:  Oops, I can't tell time again.  Two of the posts I speak of, one for here and one elsewhere, will be coming out in just a little under two hours so I guess this isn't the last post of today is it? 

Oh and Patti, if you do manage to get back here and are reading this, I hope your bronchitis is gone real soon.  I don't envy you there.  For anyone else who is under the weather, I also wish you a speedy recovery.

Until next time,

Follower Freebies 26 & 27: Cat Sentiment

As promised to some of you in email replies to your comments, here are the cat sentiments that I used in my thank you card last week.  Obviously this will only be useful for those of you with cats but I think us cat lovers are right up there with dog lovers these days.

The freebies are a set of simple sentiments that can be used together or separately for a card or other project.  
 
Follower Freebie #26:    In honour of 'Nikki from Limited Runs' who became a follower on Nov. 2nd.

 
Follower Freebie #27:    In honour of 'Lorianna' who also became a follower on Nov. 2nd.

Hope someone can find a use for them.  I'd love to see what you come up with.

 

Fonts Used:

• Cat Krap
• Cat's Alphabet  

Click the font names to take you to a download location.  While the first font is free for commercial use, the second one is unclear.  It is listed as simply free but there is no additional license information.  Use caution or contact the author before using this sentiment on projects you intend to sell.

Please be sure to read the Angel policy found under the copyright info tab above.  Below is a quick summary of those Terms of Use:   

• Do not claim the image as your own.
• Credit 'Decosse's Dynamite Doodles' somewhere on your creation.  
• Do not share my images with family, friends, etc.  Additionally, do not post any images to file sharing services like Box®, 4-Shared®, etc.  Instead, please direct people to my blog so they can grab the image for themselves.
• If I have signed an image, do not delete my signature.
• Leave a comment on my blog.  It is currently the only way for me to know if any of my freebies are being nabbed.  Additionally, it will help to inspire me to continue to create and offer future freebies.