When is a "Winter Holiday" a "Summer Holiday"?

Well as the title of this blog suggests not all things are equal for all people. The challenge starting today at Di's Digis has the theme "Winter Holiday"... now when most of the world thinks of a Winter Holiday they think of Christmas, here in Australia Christmas is in the height of summer; but as this cute image is PERFECT for "our" Christmas I decided to make a Christmas card ... and the "Holiday" can be the holiday from "Winter" that Santa (and his little penguin mate, lol) is having on that surfboard :-))
 

The image is called Surfing Santa and you can get it here.  I coloured with Copics, adding some extra shadows with Inktense pencils, Ranger's Glossy Accents to the water drops and HEAPS of Stickles to the fur trim and buckle - 
I've taken a pic in low light to at least TRY to show how much sparkle and shine it has... one day I'll work out how to photograph sparkle... then I'll patent it and make my fortune, rofl

I used the "Stella Says Sketch" this time, turning it at right angles.  The papers are from Kaisercraft, the baubles on the background paper have a gloss finish too - though of course you can't see it in the pics, sigh.  I cut the image panel with Nestabilities Labels 12, cutting the first mat from gold foil and the red mat freehand, the border at the bottom was cut with a couple of the dies from the Nestabilities Classic Borders set... I've had these for years and hardly ever use them.  I embellished them a little with some faux stitching in gold and some gold Stickle dots.... not that you can really see it, but it IS there, honest :-)

The sentiment is from Create with TLC, one of the many freebies Paulette has offered over the years; I coloured the "Jolly" with an Inktense pencil.  I cut it out with the smallest Nestabilities Labels 3 die, hand cutting the gold and red mats. The Card Candi is from my stash - I didn't even realize until I'd finished the card that I'd used different dies for the image and the sentiment, oh well, it looks okay.
I finished the inside of the card very simply... the only way to go with Christmas cards really, in the interest of getting the required amount readyin time!  What I did on this occasion was to make a red frame that was cut from the centre of the background panel on the front of the card, the square cut from the middle of THIS piece I used for the mats on the front... no waste at all!
I'd like to enter my card in the following challenges:

Clear It Out Theme: Holiday - Christmas Stash: Glitter

Fab'n'funky Challenges Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Use a Santa image)

Little Red Wagon Traditional Christmas Colours -I've used red and green AND aqua is appropriate to an Aussie beach Christmas :-)

Creatalicious Challenges Merry Christmas

Card Mania Challenges Christmas

Crafty Hazlenut's Christmas Extra Challenge Anything Goes Christmas

Cute Card Thursday Festive Colours

Pile It On Use Red and Green

Inky Chicks Merry Christmas

Bunny Zoes Crafts Sparkle

Whimsy Inspirations Challenge Anything Goes

Hiding in my Craft Room Anything Goes

The Crazy Challenge Anything Goes

Addicted to  Stamps Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion Anything Goes

Through the Craftroom Door Anything Goes

I hope you get a chance to enter the challenge... like I said MOST of you would find this a particularly Seasonal theme... for the rest of us, we improvise, lol.  There's a great prize on offer as always, and if you use one of Di's cuties (digi or one of the Candi Bean rubber stamps) you go into an extra draw, woohoo!!
Hopefully I'll be back soon with something out of my drafts... even if it's one of the few cards I've still got in there from last Christmas.
My crafting time has been at a premium because, while my lovely Mum is now home from hospital, there are the usual litany of follow up appointments and diagnostics going on.  Her problems are compounded by the fact that she weighs 38kg which is just UNDER 6 stone (83lb) and so doesn't have much in reserve... unlike her daughter, lol 
Anyway, until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

I've Got Some Christmas Blues... and it's only September!

Well I sort of have the Blues... we have a new challenge starting today at Here Come the Boys - and the theme is "Blue Christmas in September"

The fabulous image is from Dr Digi who is our sponsor this fortnight, this is Surfin' Santa and you can grab yours here.  Divas by Design has a "Water Themed" challenge so I'm entering there and Deep Ocean Challenge has You Are My Sunshine so I'm in there too.

I coloured with Copics, adding a white highlight to the sunglasses, and some gloss to them too... just for good measure!  
Fab'n'funky Challenges wants us to use Opposite colours (of the colour wheel), I have so I'm in, Stampin' for the Weekend  has Colours of Summer and Sweet Stampin' has Got the Blues (only like I have, lol) so I'm entering them too :-)  
The papers are digis from Bearly Mine Designs, the Christmas Wishes set, the blue card is Canson and the white matting has glittery dots all over it, so nice IRL.  
I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches, the horizontal band has the white glittery paper and the blue has been punched with a Christmas punch that my lovely Mum just brought me back from her (latest!) trip to Malaysia.

The snowflake charm is part of a challenge win from the lovely Nikki at Bunny Zoe Crafts, attached with bakers twine; The Crazy Challenge has a Bingo theme, I've used the "Charms/Image/Punches or Die Cuts" row.  I've got loads of layers here... 
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long wants to see 4+ Layers, so I'm in, and Crafts-Too Challenge You want to see Texture + Your Style... I think I've got enough texture and this card is my "style", such as it is (focus on the image and only a few embellies - whatever you'd call that style, lol)The sentiment is from Create With TLC, my 'go to' place for sentiments, Aud Sentiments wants us to use Any Sentiment... too easy!  The pearls are actually Pebbles from Scrappers Must Haves, they're translucent but didn't look quite right, so I gave them a coat of Stickles, now they look just fine :-)
I finished the inside using the same sketch, dispensing with the charm, lol.  

Whimsy Inspirations Challenge has Masculine as their theme, as do Creatalicious Challenges and My Mums Craft Shop so I'm entering there. Bearly Mine Challenges, Addicted to Stamps, Totally Gorjuss, Through the Craftroom Door and Paper Crafting Journey have Anything Goes challenges while Papertake Weekly Anything Goes with the option of Christmas, so I'm entering there too.

Well that's it for today's card, I hope you get a chance to pop over to the blog and check out the rest of the team's "Blue Christmas" cards, why not get a start (if you haven't already!) on your Christmas cards... you'll be in with a chance at some of your own Dr Digis too - bonus! 

I thought I'd share the latest photo my son (Matt, not Chris the photographer) took of the twins the other day with his phone, they're nearly five and a half months old now - wow, time's flown! I'm sharing this pic over at Sassy Cheryl's Show Me Thursday blog, such a fun space :-)
Matt's still not back at work yet, the amputation site has healed over, he has started driving again and is going to the gym daily to try and get some flexibility back in to his foot where the scar tissue is hard and inflexible (and to build up his leg muscles which have wasted a little over the last three and a bit months)  He should be back to work by the beginning of next month, he is slowly increasing the time his foot is down, currently it swells once it's not elevated for more than an hour or so.  He has yet to get his orthotics and prosthetics are probably out of the picture as the quote came in at $16000!! a bit much for two toes, when they only last about three years.
One thing about having all this time at home is that he is spending a lot of time with the babies there'll be a lot of adjustment when he goes back to work... for everyone!
Anyway, I'll be back in a few days hopefully, with another card; until then Happy Crafting, Donna

Roll Out Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

I'm back today with a card for the new challenge over at Here Come The Boys, with the theme "Lazy Summer Days" - I am a bit late with my post as I was quite unwell earlier - I'm feeling a lot better now, thank goodness!

I've used one of the many fabulous images from Dr Digi, who is our sponsor for this challenge, this is Ambrose King of the Waves.  I've coloured with Copics adding some extra shading (which is really hard to see in the pic!) with Prismacolor pencils and some gloss to the eyes and swim mask. The clouds I did with versamark ink. A Little Bit Crafty  has Summer Sun, as does My Mums Craft Shop so I'm entering there.  Anything Goes Challenge  has By the Sea, Crafts-Too Challenge You has Summer Fun - Beach Colours, The Paper Shelter has Holiday Time and Without Words has Beach Holiday/At the Seaside so I'm entering there... and hoping that my card is CAS enough to qualify. 

I've made the card base with Kraft, again!  The mats are from scraps I had from a DCWV Mariposa pad, you can see them in my "red" scraps folder :-) Tuesday Throwdown are challenging us to Use Our Scraps... I could probably make a thousand cards with my hoard of scraps, lol.  The designer paper is from a Design by Dani pad "All American Summer", I got it as a digi from Jessica Sprague...   I've just discovered this site and they sell Echo Park Hybrids (one of my all time favourite pads is EP Walk in the Park... which is available as a hybrid, yay!)  I did have a bit of a spend up, aah, again :-)  Pile It On has Designer Paper as their challenge so I'm in. The only embellishments I've added are a couple of eyelets and the seashells, which I bought in a pack from my LSS.  I've added some to the front and also to the inside to use them as a stop for the easel. 

I cut the image panel (and the jotting panel inside, with more inked clouds) with an Mpress Victorian Frame die, I hand cut the mats using the die as a guide.  The sentiment is Craftworks, also with a freehand mat.

2 Sisters Challenge wants to see Square Cards, so I'm in, and Little Red Wagon wants Layers so I'm in there too.

Gem of a Challenge want Anything with a B - I have Beach, Burn (check out Ambrose's shoulders, nose and bald pate, lol), Bathers and of course Birthday. Seize the Birthday has Anything Goes Birthday (as always), so I'm in, Cards for Men has "funny birthday" and Inky Impressions, Cuttlebug Mania and Creatalicious Challenges all have "masculine" challenges, so in there too.  My Time to Craft has Sports (swimming, well Ambrose will go swimming after he's finished his ice cream, lol) and Through the Craftroom Door, Colour Me Copic, Cutie Pie Challenge, Paper Crafting Journey and Crafty Calendar all have Anything Goes challenges so I'm entering them too.

Hope you get a chance to visit the blog and check out the rest of the team's efforts, brilliant as always!  With such a nice broad theme and that fab prize from Dr Digi, hope to see you enter the challenge too :-)  

I'll be back in a few days with a card I've got sitting on my desk, until then Happy Crafting, Donna

Summer Fun with Di's Digi Stamps

A new challenge starts today at Di's Digis Challenge Blog, the theme is "Summer Fun"... which is kind of ironic for me as it's Winter here and with everything going on with my son life is anything but Fun... however that's not to say that it's not a fabulous theme for the rest of you :-)
I made a card, it was really good to have a break from hospitals and babysitting / housework - I finished at 2am as I couldn't sleep (exhaustion isn't necessarily the answer, lol)

I used the image Seaside Ted, available here - one of many images Di has that fit the Summer Fun brief :-)  Fab'n'funky Challenges has Animals and  Corrosive Challenge has Animal Antics so I'm entering there. Craft Your Passion has Let's Play Dress Up, my little bear is dressed up so I'm in! 
I've coloured with Copics.  Deep Ocean Challenge, Kaboodle Doodles, Creatalicious Challenges,  Cute Card Thursday and Paper Pretties have Summer themed challenges so I'm entering them all!
I've used the sketch from Pile It On  this time around; you know me, I love a good sketch :-)
The paper is a digi pack from Shery K Designs, it's called - believe it or not - Summer Fun! Papertake Weekly has Hot Hot Hot and Without Words has Hot Colours as their themes, so I'm entering there too.
The green cardstock is DCWV, I embossed the horizontal band with Tiny Bubbles Cuttlebug folder, I thought it suited the Seaside theme.
The sentiment on the front is from Sentiments 4 You - I don't know if they're still operating - I cut it with Standard Circle Nestabilities, coloured the "rim" and matted it onto Lacey Circles Nestabilities, Digi Makeover has Punches and Dies as their theme, so I'm entering there.  The brad in the centre (well not quite in the centre, but it should have been in the centre, lol) is from HOTP and the Card Candi is from Craftworks Cards. 
I used some matching cardstock and paper to decorate the inside of the card, the sentiment (from one of my favourite sites, Create with TLC) is perfect for Father's Day :-) Creative Craft Challenges,Ready Teddy Go, Hobbycutz, Totally Gorjuss, Joanna Sheen and Cards for Men all have Father's Day or Masculine themes, so I'm entering there.

Inky Impressions, Stampin' for the Weekend and Stamping With The Dragon have Anything Goes challenges running, so I'm entering there.

That's about it for my card today, why don't you pop on over to the Di's Digi Stamps Challenge blog and check out the rest of my teamies inspiration; as always there's some real eye candy :-)  I hope you get a chance to enter the challenge, there's a great prize on offer from My Time Made Easy and if you use one of Di's super cute images you get a chance at an extra prize!!

I'm typing this post on the way to the hospital to see Matt, he was readmitted on Wednesday as he has developed a serious infection.   When he was readmitted he was prepped for surgery to remove the two toes the next morning, but when the surgeon who's been on the case since the beginning came in first thing he told Matt that he still thought it was worth trying to save at least part of his big toe. His foot looked very bad on Wednesday, but was looking a bit better yesterday afternoon so hopefully the Case surgeon is correct in his assessment.  

The really daunting thing is that he also said Matt may be in hospital for seven to ten weeks before the final decision.  We talked to Matt about trying to get moved to a hospital closer to home (there's a lovely hospital 15 minutes away from home rather than the ancient pile he's in now an hour away) but where he is has some of the State's top surgeons and in addition "his" surgeon is motivated towards keeping the toes whereas the surgeon he saw on Wednesday just thought it was too hard and scheduled amputation; Matt's worried that if he changes hospital he may get a surgeon more inclined to the swifter solution.  An operation is inevitable but even if they can save an inch of the big toe the outcome is significantly improved in regards to rehabilitation.  

So, it looks like his poor wife will be making the two hour trek while juggling breastfeeds and we'll be at their place babysitting and keeping their place going for some time to come - I'm not looking forward to it, but obviously want to support Matt and Elaine in their decision; if they want to give it their best shot then it's the least we can do.

He is missing his babies terribly, they have reached the "cute" stage of smiles and coos, Elaine won't take them into the hospital, she is paranoid about germs, but I think she is becoming more open to the idea of taking them in to the hospital gardens and letting Matt have some contact with them - I think it will be good for ALL of them if it happens.

Anyway, enough of my dramas!  I'm not able to do a lot of crafting, but I am still trying to keep up with your blogs, so have some crafting for me, lol.

Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna  

Here Come The Boys Favourite Film Challenge

A new challenge starts today over at Here Come The Boys... we want to see your craft projects (suitable for a man or boy, don't forget!) inspired by your Favourite Film.  One of my all time favourite movies, and one we use to herald the start of the Christmas season in our house is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, here's my card inspired by this movie.

I've kept it pretty simple, it's a DL size card which I thought that was very clever as it goes at standard postage... until I remembered the special rate that applies to Christmas cards, duh!  Oh well, it won't hurt :-)  

The image - Tropical Santa, Suntan -  is from Bugaboo; I bought a couple of these "summer" Santa digis, they work really well for my cards to overseas (Christmas being in the middle of Summer here). Craft Us Crazy has Favourite Holiday for their challenge, Christmas is by far my favourite so I'm entering there, The 2 Sisters Challenge is to use your favourite Christmas image... I love 'em all! so I'm entering there and the Winter Wonderland challenge is One for the Boys (use an image of a boy or man), so I'm in there too.

I coloured the image with Copics, The Pink Elephant wants us to use our favourite colouring medium, I love Copics, especially for strong colours, so I'm entering there.  Without Words has Whizz Bang (use bright colours), I hope my colours are bright enough to enter there!

I shaded Santa's beard, but it just looked dirty, so I painted in some texture using Jo Sonja's Titanium White... it hardly shows in the photo so I took an underexposed picture - you can sort of see how it works, much better IRL of course!  I may add some gloss to his sunglasses yet, haven't decided :-) 

I followed the sketch by Cute Card Thursday, I wanted a very "unfussy" sketch, this one delivered! I cut and embossed the image panel with Mpress Curved Rectangles dies, cutting the gold mat freehand.  The faux stitching was also done freehand with my piercing tool, but I have bought a piercing wheel that I will have a go at using soon - on straight lines!!  Stampin' for the Weekend has All Stitched Up for their challenge theme, so I'm entering there.  The sentiment is from TLC Creations.. where I get a lot of my sentiments - so many brilliant ones - and the Create With TLC blog is well worth checking out too, loads of ideas and lots of freebies; Pauline is very generous :-)  I added gold Dew Drops as the only embellishment, Crafty Creations has No Flowers for their challenge... I'm in!  I finished the inside of the card along the same lines as the front.

Creative Craft Challenges has Special Occassions, not birthday, as their challenge theme so I'm entering there, and Papertake Weekly has Anything Goes with the option of Christmas, so I'm entering there too.  

Crazy 4 Challenges has Favourite Christmas Carol for their challenge, I thought of an Australian Carol called  Upside Down Christmas, which refers to the lure of the beach (which is a very popular setting for Christmas lunch here, though not for us... it's Boxing Day for us)  Paper Crafting Journey, Christmas Stampin' All Year Long, Bearly Mine Challenges, One Stop Craft Challenge and Cards for Men all have Anything Goes challenges, so I'll be entering them as well.

Anyway, that's it for today's card, do pop over to Here Come The Boys and check out my teamies work.  It's a pretty easy challenge theme this time around, and we're offering you the chance at a Guest spot on the DT, so why not have a go?  It's our DT leader's birthday today too, so I'd just like to say Happy Birthday Woo and many more :-)

I'll be back in a couple of days, though our kitchen/most of the house renovation starts in earnest this week so crafting and blogging will probably be a bit hit and miss for a couple of weeks!

Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

Tag Time at Here Come The Boys

Well I don't use tags on my cards very often, but as the theme for the challenge starting today at Here Come The Boys is to use a  Tag on your card I've used one on this card.... it certainly won't be the last time I use a tag, they're pretty nifty!

I've used a Gus image from Bugaboo Stamps again, love this guy's 'tude!  This is Gus, At My Age and he comes with the sentiment.... which my hubby can relate to (he said). Bugaboos Catch The Bug challenge this time around is an Anything Goes, so I'm entering there. I've coloured with Copics adding gloss to the beach ball and Gus's glasses.  By The Cute and Girly (which Gus is NOT, lol) has "A Day At..." as their challenge, Gus is having a day at the beach so I'm entering there, Crafty Calendar has "Fun in the Sun, The Crafty Pad has At the Seaside, Craft Your Passion has Chillin' and Grillin' and Paper Crafting Journey and Totally Papercrafts have Summer as their themes so I'm entering there too.  Cards for Men and Paper Play Challenges both have birthday challenges - I'm in there too!
I've used this fabulous sketch from Sketch and Stash this time around, love a good sketch!
The papers I've used are digis from Shery K Designs, this is the Summer Mega collection... 20 completely different patterns for $3.00, I LOVE a bargain, and they print out a treat.  The red matting paper has a light corrugated finish, which adds a little interest.  I didn't have enough red card to make the Circular mat, so I coloured some orange stuff I had with Copics.... guaranteed to match my image :-)  The Joanna Sheen challenge this time is "Going Round in Circles", so I'm entering there, Allsorts Challenges and Divas by Design have Red White and Blue challenges and Crazy For Challenges has The Colours of Your Flag... you guessed it, the Aussie flag is red white and blue, so I'm in!  (Our sporting colours, for example what our athetes will wear at the Olympics are Green and Gold, so I suppose I could use those too, lol, but our flag is definitely red white and blue!)  Oozak has Bright Colours as their theme so I'm entering there too.
The image mat is cut with Standard Circles Nesties, and the mat is cut using Scalloped Circles.  I cut the tag freehand, but seems as I'm going to use tags more, I think I might invest in a tag die.... or two :-) The Simon Says Challenge, is Tags or ATCs and Stampin' for the Weekend is Tags, so I'm entering there.
The ribbon is from my stash, as is the little acrylic (modern word for plastic, lol) starfish and the Card Candi... which is a relatively new addition to my stash, it's Carnaby Street, with gold stripes on it, very nice, and I've Copic-coloured it to match as well.   I used a gel pen for the faux stitching on the tag.  As always, I qualify to enter the Waste Not Wednesdays challenge to use our stash!

I've finished the inside of the card a little differently, being channeling Joey here, I've used a digi image that I've had for an age, Beach Borders from Whimsie Doodles set in a square with a red border and dashed blue border (even easier faux stitching than my gel pen, lol) added in Word - all set on top of a sheet of the digi paper from the front... so it's all on one sheet, no waste at all as the digi paper that's covered by the white square doesn't get printed... if that makes sense.  Cupcake Craftroom has Layers as their challenge theme, lucky for me there's plenty of layers on the Front of my card, lol.
Sassy Cheryls Tuesday Challenge, Papertake Weekly and Creatalicious Challenges  all have Anything Goes challenges, so I'll be entering those too... my goodness plenty of challenges to enter today :-)
Well that's it for today, pop over to the Here Comes The Boys blog and check out my teamies-tags, there's some great inspiration there.  Hope to see you join in the challenge.
I'll be back in a day or so, in the meantime, Happy Crafting, Donna

Smile for the Camera!

Today's card shows off CC Designs sweet little Swiss Pixie Camera Birgitta. ain't she cute?!!

  
I've used a digistamp, but they are available as rubber too, for those that prefer.  Fab'nFunky challenges have "Use a Digi" for their challenge this time... I'm in, easy for me I LOVE digis!  Lisa has a little challenge running encouraging us to use our uninked or unused digis, so I'm entering (finally, Lisa!) over at Waste Not Wednesdays
Sketch 'n' Stash have a Free Choice Sketch challenge running at the moment, where you can choose any sketch from their catalogue... I chose this one: 
Sugar Creek Hollow has "Vacation at the Beach" as its challenge this week, I hope my card is shabby-chic/primitive enough to qualify, as it was when I saw their theme I remembered having this image :-)  
I've used my Copics for the skin and Prismacolor pencils to colour the rest of the image, actually I coloured it months ago when I was away on holiday, and just got around to using it.  I added gloss to the sunglasses and the camera lens.
The papers are from Basic Grey's Lauderdale pad, The Crafty Pad wants us to use Fresh Spring Colours, this sure qualifies, so I'm entering there.  The textured cardstock is from DCWV.... I think.  I punched the horizontal strip with an EK Success Slimline Daisy Scallop punch.  The image panel is cut with a Classic Oval Nestabilities die, the mat is cut with a Scalloped Oval Nestie.
I finished the card off with some little butterfly brads that I recoloured with Copics then added some glitter to, some Card Candi and a little gel "Smile" sticker tag that I've had for YEARS!
The inside of the card uses elements from the front... don't they always, lol.
Divas By Design have Anything Goes, as does Allsorts Challenges and Papertake Weekly, so I'm entering those challenges.
That's it for today's card, you can always see loads of inspiration at the All That Scraps Blog, I'll be back in a day or so (aiming for tomorrow, but you know how it goes!) with the card I made for our friend Dave's birthday last Friday - it's cute too, but in a completely different way than young Birgitta here, lol.  Hope you drop by to check it out, until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

Here Come The Boys Chasing Pirates

This post, for Here Come The Boys, is my second for today, you can see my first post (for Bizzy Becs) here or by scrolling down.  The challenge starting over at Here Come The Boys is "Favourite Song".  I was hard pressed to choose a favourite, so I picked ONE of my faves, "Chasing Pirates" by Norah Jones.  I love this song, and can relate to the "I'm so tired, from chasing pirates".... I seem to be tired from chasing my tail!

This gorgeous little pirate/chaser is "Captain Hugh" a digi by Mo Manning, their challenge this week is Anything Goes With A Mo Image, I'm in!  I've coloured with Prismacolor pencils, with a little bit of gloss on the telescope lens.  I'm really happy with my colouring on this, improving with my pencils is my mission!
I've used this great sketch from Divas by Design. but missed the deadline, still a great sketch deserves recognition.... and as the Divas have an Anything Goes theme I'll be entering their challenge anyway, lol.  Allsorts Challenges  theme is Free and Easy too, so I'm in there as well.

The papers I've used are from Kaisercrafts Up Up and Away pad, mounted on chocolate card from American Crafts.  The triangles on the corner are actually from an envelope I salvaged from somewhere, embossed with Cuttlebugs Tiny Bubbles folder.  The "Ahoy" is made up of letter stickers that I've had hanging around for ages.  The Pebbles on the corner of the image panel are from the Golden Flowers collection (from Scrappers Must Haves), the twine is from my stash and the great charm is a gift from my blog friend and fellow HCTB DT member Woo.  I think my card has a  "vintage" feel, so I'm entering Charisma Cardz  challenge.  It's definitely One For The Boys, so I'm entering the Digi Stamps 4 Joy challenge too.

The inside of the card is finished in my usual fashion, with papers and elements from the front, loosly following the sketch.  In addition I have used the Treasure Chest digi from Make It Crafty, coloured with Prismacolor pencils with some added sparkle and pearls.
Pollycraft has Favourite Things as its challenge theme.... not only is the jewellery pretty high on the fave list, I've used a cute digi, nice papers and some simple embellies, all favourite ingredients for me.

Prize for HCTB Favourite Song Challenge

Well that's it from me today, don't forget to check out the rest of my teamies great creations, why not have a go at the challenge this fortnight... I bet you've got a zillion ideas using your favourite songs... and there's a great prize.
I'll be back in a few days with the card I made for our friend's birthday, which I have ready to post when there's a bit of a lull on my blog, lol (actually I had it ready to go up on Friday and forgot to schedule it, duh!) 
Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

Santa's Turn To Party

I have another Christmas card to show today.... only one more post after this and I'll be done with Christmas 2011 - PROMISE!  I made this one for the staff of one of the swimming pool companies we work with, it is really appropriate for Christmas in Australia, and particularly so for our industry I feel :-)

The image is Santi Beaches (I love clever names!) and he's a digi from Dude Time Doodles.  He looks well relaxed, doesn't he?  He's finished with all that present giving (much of it at our house, I might add!) and is ready to Par-Tay!!!  Totally Papercrafts challenge is "Time To Party" and Crafty Emma's is Party Party Party, so I'm entering there.
I coloured the image with Copics, adding high gloss to Santa's sunnies and his lovely cocktail.  Crazy 4 Challenges has "It's Santa" for their challenge, so I'm entering there too.  I cut  the image panel with Nestabilities Labels 4, Pollycraft has Punch It as its theme, so I'm entering there.  The papers are from Kaisercrafts "Tis the Season collection, the glittery green card and the cord are from my stash (handy hint: melt the ends to stop them fraying...but don't set fire to them, hmmm, the voice of experience, lol).  I made the sentiment on the computer.  Cutie Pie Challenge is to Use a Sentiment, I have so I'm in.
The inside of the card is finished with papers from the front... isn't it always?! lol.
Bizzy Becs and Paper Play Challenges have Christmas challenges running Digi Stamps 4 Joy has "Christmas but no animals" - even though this Santa is a party animal, I'm entering there, lol.  Papertake Weekly "Last" Christmas - as in their last Christmas themed challenge for the year and Charisma Cardz Anything Goes so I'm in there too.
Before I finish this post I thought I'd share one of the ideas I use to ensure my digis are scaled correctly to fit the Nesties I want to use.  In this case, the Labels Four set. I scanned all the dies in each of the sets I have, saved them as .png files in a folder named for that set.  I then open the one I want, add it to my Word document (position it so that it's readily moved around) then add my digi image (which I have also saved as .png files with transparent backgrounds, though you can do it with .jpg files).  Once the two files (Nestie and image) are open, I resize the image (make sure you don't resize the Nestie!) until it fits inside the Nestie, or it has the "bits" hanging over the edge that I want like Santi has in this case.  All that's left to do is delete the picture of the Nestie from the document and print the image.  You know it will fit inside the Nestie, and you know you've left enough room on the page for the Nestie.  I use the same principle for adding sentiments to Nesties.
Well, that's it for today.  I'll be back in a day or so with the very last of my 2011 Christmas cards, until then Happy Crafting, Donna.

Sunshine and Happiness

I'm a Sweetie!  Well, that's what the lovely ladies at Cupcake Inspirations tell me - I'm their Guest Sweetie (aka Guest Designer) for this week and this is the card I've made using the Photo Inspiration for this week's challenge.

The uber cute image is Beachy Tia, a digi from Some Odd Girl. Stampin' for the Weekend has Holidays as its challenge theme, this little beach babe is CLEARLY enjoying hers, so I'm entering there. Ellephantastic Challenges  theme is Here Come the Girls, so Tiny Tia is entering there too.

I bought a few Some Odd Girl digis recently, this is the first chance I've had to get one coloured up and I thought Tia was just perfect for the colours and style of Cupcakes photo inspiration (they always find some seriously rockin' cupcakes for their inspiration!), she is coloured with Copics -after I took this photo I added some gloss to her sunnies, but I haven't taken another photo so just "think" glossy, lol. Stamp Something has its Digi Day challenge on, so I'm in!

I used the sketch from Papertake Weekly this time, very nice sketch - thank you very much ;-)  The papers are from American Crafts City Park collection (that I won from Tracy in March!!!) and my Echo Park Walk In The Park pad, man I LOVE that pad, I'm going to have to buy another one it just is so usable. 

The image panel is cut and embossed using Nestabilities Classic Ovals, I used Nestabilites Scalloped Ovals for the purple foil mat.  I used the same foil to mat the sentiment ticket (which was a blank ticket digi from Bizzy Becs, I added the sentiment on the computer) I used my smallest circle punch to clip the ticket/mat into shape - I really want a ticket die, but the one I want has been unavailable, I digress.... 

Cute Card Thursday wants us to Pinch and Punch (use at least one punch) and Crafty Creations has Use Three or more Different Dies or Punches as it's theme, this time so I'm in.

Well, even if there weren't enough punches on the outside of the card, the inside makes up for it: I used my new (literally opened the mail, and used the test cut!) Nellies Choice Floral Punch for the flowers on the inside, as well as my EK Success Doily Lace edge punch. 

Paper Play Challenges has Make your own flowers, Moving Along With The Times has Hand Made flowers, as does Craft Your Days Away  so my mail man arrived just in time for me to enter all those challenges, lol. 

The ribbon, pearls and flowers on the front are from my stash.
Digi Stamps 4 Joy and My Time to Craft has In Full Bloom and Bearly Mine Challenges have Flowers as their theme...but you don't have to make them yourselves so even the paper and the flowers on the front would get me in there!
Simon Says Challenge and The Paper Shelter have Anything Goes and Totally Gorjuss has As You Like It, so I don't even need the flowers to get in there, my colours cute image and great sketch are all as I like it, so I'm in!!
Well, that's it for Beachy Tia and me! Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT inspiration, all Sweeties, and have a go at the challenge too - so much inspiration to be had from those gorgeous cupcakes! 

I'm sorry this post is a bit lacking in the formatting department, Blogger is giving me a LOT of trouble (including not publishing my scheduled posts!)

Until next time, Happy Crafting, Dee