Di's Digis Halloween Challenge

There's a new challenge starting today at Di's Digis Challenge Blog, the theme is Halloween... in perfect time for, well, Halloween!  I managed to knuckle down long enough in my craft room to get a card made.  I was surprised at how tired I got, it's really hard to sit on my swivel chair with the wedge cushion I have to use for the 12 weeks of my recovery, so I ended up standing for most of the journey - definitely have to remedy that!  Anyway here's what I came up with 

I used one of Di's newer digis, this one's called "A Little Bit of Magic", and you can get your Little Bit of Magic here  Isn't it sweet? Not really spooky at all!  I coloured with Copics, adding some extra shadows with Prismacolor pencils.  
I embossed the orb and the stars with Ranger's Bridal Tinsel and the belt with Rangers Multisparkle, as usual it hardly shows in the pic!  The base card has a lovely texture, the black matting is from my stash and the pale lilac mat is more of the pebble paper I love so much that I get from Starfish Lane .  

I used the sketch from Digi Sketch Challenge, following it pretty literally until I added the three gems instead of two.
The paper I used is also from Di... it's her first attempt at Digital Paper and I think you'll agree she's done a super job.  What's more she's offering it as a freebie on the challenge site, so why not grab yours here.  I changed the colour to purple and white from black and white using Word... simply by clicking Format then choosing a colour in the Colour tab... really super easy.  Cutie Pie Challenge is Perfectly Purple, plenty of purple here so I'm entering.
The "sentiment" is actually cut from another fabulous freebie paper that I got from Shery K Designs... I love this paper, one of set of 10 that's one of my go-to's for Halloween. Aud Sentiments wants to see a two or three word sentiment, this is one word twice... hope it counts :-) Without Words has BOO as their theme, not only do I have BOO...twice, this is about as scary a card as I'm likely to make, and it satisfies their criteria of few or no embellies with only the couple of dots, appropriately from the BOO collection!
I've used the same elements on the inside of the card, you can see a tad more of Di's yummy paper, but not much more I know.
Tuesday Throwdown, The Paper Shelter, Crafts 4 Eternity, Corrosive Challenge, Bearly Mine Challenges, Cute Card Thursday, Gem of a Challenge and Clear It Out all have Halloween (or variations of) themes, so I'm entering them while  Through the Craftroom Door, Addicted to  Stamps, Whimsy Inspirations Challenge and Art by Miran all have Anything Goes challenges so I'm entering them too.
Well that's it for today's card, I hope you get a chance to check out my teamies fab projects... and grab yourself that yummy paper, why not enter the challenge while you're there, there's a fab prize from The Cutting Café and if you use one of Di's cute images you go in an extra draw too!
I'm off to bed now, this is the first night since my op that I will be getting myself to bed, hubby went early (he's probably shattered doing the heavy housework on top of his regular work!) I have been keeling over pretty early myself, but have managed to stay up this evening - and I did quite a bit today; I had reflexology and a neck and shoulder massage... it was lovely but I can't wait until I can have a "proper" massage on a table - three weeks more and I should be able to do that (when at least some of my restrictions lift) and I made it all the way around the grocery shopping without having to sit down, admittedly I reverted to two crutches for the day, whereas I have been using only one for the the bulk of the last two days.  More than anything I find I get a wider berth if I use two and it makes me feel a lot safer in places like crowded shopping centres!
Just thought I'd add a couple of pics of the twins visiting me in hospital... in one you can see me, really not looking my glorious best, but it was Day 1 after major surgery, and the twins looking quite unfazed that they had evicted the invalid from her bed, lol


I'll be back in a day or so, I'm really ramping my crafting back up this week as my sister has gone back to the country after her visit (not that I saw her that much, but she did help fill a couple of days) and I'll be on my own and still unable to get out of the house much - may as well use the opportunity ;-)  Until then, happy crafting, Donna

Spoo-keee!

It's that time again at Di's Digis Challenge, and the theme this fortnight is Halloween...a very popular one right now :-)

I've used Di's super cute image  "Li'l Witches Brew", coloured with Copics (with some added highlights and shading with Prismacolor pencils) and heaps of glitter... there's glitter on the brew, bubbles flask (which has gloss on it too, for good measure, lol) the stars on the witches hat and shoes.  

The orange matting is super glittery too... all in all this thing not only glows in the dark (well, not literally, but it's pretty bright!) but twinkles a LOT!

The only embellishment is (are?) the stars on the corner of the image, they're MFT Stacking Stars, I've had them ages but have never thought to stack them (duh!) looks okay :-)  
The oh-so-fun paper is from a freebie Halloween pack by Shery K Designs, love it!

I used the same layout for the inside of the card, with more of the MFT stars... the negatives of the others really.  I printed the jotting panel as part of the designer paper; I added a text box in Word and formatted it with a purple border and inner shadow, it looks quite effective IRL, and means I didn't use more ink than necessary - I love digis!
I've listed all the challenges I'm entering this time, as they are all either Halloween (I told you it was a popular  theme!) or Anything Goes.
Pop over to Di's Challenge Blog and check out the rest of the team's not-so-spooky creations, I hope you get a chance to enter the challenge too... we're being sponsored by There She Goes Stamps with a fantastic $10 voucher - and as always if you use one of Di's stamps (and why wouldn't you, so cute!) you're in an extra draw for 2 images of your choice.
That list of challenges is:

Clear It Out Theme: Halloween Stash: Something Orange (that glittery paper, I didn't think I'd ever use it, lol)

Inky Impressions Halloween or Black and Orange

Kaboodle Doodles Halloween Colours

2 Sisters Challenge Cute and Spooky (TICK, tick)

Cute Card Thursday Spooktacular

Card Makin Mamas Trick or Treat

Stampin' for the Weekend Something Spooky

Divas by Design Halloween

Pile It On Halloween

Cupcake Inspirations Halloween

My Mums Craft Shop Halloween

Crafty Calendar Halloween

Creative Belli Halloween
Totally Gorjuss Halloween

The Crazy Challenge Halloween

Simon Says Challenge Halloween

Crafts 4 Eternity Happy Halloween

Card Mania Challenges Halloween

Through the Craftroom Door Anything Goes

Crafty Little Fairies Anything Goes

Paper Crafting Journey Anything Goes

Creative Craft Challenges Anything Goes

In closing, I'd just like to tell my fellow Aussies that are affected by the bushfires (in NSW in particular) that I'm thinking of them.  A friend lost her home in the Black Saturday fires in Victoria in 2009 and I know how stressful it was when we lived in the hills here, dreading every summer but not wanting to leave the lovely environs; I couldn't take it in the end and moved closer to the coast only to have our house under threat the very first summer from a grass fire in Whiteman Park (a huge bush reserve) over our back fence!!

Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna 

A "BOO-kmark" for Halloween

We don't celebrate Halloween in a big way in Australia, having said that I just had the cutest bunch of kids rock up for their treats - and I did carve a pumpkin... alright, I didn't have a pumpkin so I used a sweet potato - but it looked the goods :-)  My hubby took a photo with his phone, so I'll upload it later.  Even though we don't "do" Halloween, I love all the cute images that are out there for it, and there are so many Spooky themed challenges at the moment, I thought why not?  

I made a bookmark, which I did offer as an alternative to the sweet treats in my basket, but only the mums thought it was a good idea, lol, so I still have it - my sister loves all things witchy so she'll probably end up with it.  Cupcake Craft Challenges has Witches and/or Pumpkins for their challenge, I'm in.
I love these little magnetic bookmarks, I get to colour up nice images... this is Alison the Witch from Tiddly Inks... and use nice papers (these are from my stash,  I do remember the one was called Oogie Boogie - can't think why I remember that, lol) and even add some embellies. They take a fraction of the time a card takes to make, which with my current level of activity means I at least get something finished :-)  Gem of a Challenge has Polka Dots or Spots as their challenge so I'm entering there.
I've coloured the image with Copics, cut it out, stuck it on.   Totally Gorjuss and Addicted to Stamps have Things With Wings as their challenge theme, I hope Alisons medium counts :-)  The 2 Sisters Challenge this time around is Halloween Colours, so I'm entering there and Colour Me Copic has Anything Goes with a Twist of Orange, so I'm entering there too.
The magnets are covered with more paper (on the inside of the bookmark)  The rest is pretty obvious, the bling is from my stash.  Paper Pretties has a Bling theme, so I'm in there too.
Usually I don't present the challenges I enter as a list, but there are so many with a Halloween theme that I will be listing them this time....

My Time to Craft Halloween
One Stop Craft Challenge Halloween
Di's Digi Designs Halloween
Creatalicious Challenges Halloween
Totally Papercrafts Spooky Halloween
Crafty Calendar All Things Spooky
Crafts 4 Eternity Ghouls Ghosts and Goblins
Moving Along With The Times Too Cute To Spook
Cute Card Thursday Something Scary
Fashionista Challenge Anything Goes
The Paper Shelter Anything Goes
Stampin' for the Weekend Anything Goes

Phew, that's the end of my list!!  I'm off now to link up... I may be in bed before midnight, lol.

Hope you all have a Happy Halloween, and on a more serious note I hope that those of you affected by Hurricane Sandy fared well.

Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

Witching You a Happy Birthday

While I've still got a few Christmas cards left to show for this year, I thought I'd mix it up a bit today with a birthday card I made for my sister Fiona who loves Witches, purple and butterflies in equal measure!

The oh-so-not-scary witch is L'il Haunts Lylah from Tickled Pink Stamps, how awesome is she?...my sis is going to LOVE her!!  I've given her green eyes, like my sister, and pink hair which is not like my sister...any more!! (yup, she did have pink hair - though not quite this pink - at one stage, orange at another even blue/black at another - she's the "out there" one, I am the conservative one, lol)  
Tickled Pink Stamps challenge this time around  is to use one of their previous challenges, I've gone for challenge #6 which is Birthday Wishes.... I've got a Birthday Witch, but I know it counts :-) but I could equally have gone for #21 which is Use Three Designer Papers.  Totally Gorjuss challenge is to make a card For Someone Special, my sister is certainly special to me so I'm entering there.  The Crafty Pad wants us to make Anything but Christmas, birthdays (even those on the 21st December) are NOT Christmas, so I'm in.
I've used the sketch from Sketch Saturday, I do like a nice sketch :-)  I've flipped it and used rectangles instead of circles, and tweaked the dimensions to accommodate the quite-tall Lylah (definitely NOT like my sister, she's a shorty like me...even shorter in fact, YAY!) but that's about as adventurous as I got; why mess with perfection? lol.
The image is coloured with Copics, Creatalicious Challenges  has Purple Green Pink and White as their current challenge theme, this ticks all the boxes (though admittedly there aint much green...it is there!) so I'm entering.  The papers are from Kaisercraft's Magic Happens collection.  The foil stars tie in beautifully with the micro corrugated purple foil card I used for matting. it's quite "blingy" IRL.  The gems at the top are Pebbles from the Boo collection, the ribbon is from my stash.  Simon Says Challenge has a Bingo challenge; I'm using the  ribbon/twine, gems, glitter/sparkle line hoping my very shiny foil bits are glittery enough!
I made the sentiment on my trusty laptop, I'll have it on my freebies page if you want to grab it... I've got a few waiting to get posted on there, I will get around to it, hopefully this side of Christmas :-)  Cutie Pie Challenge is to Use a sentiment, never a problem for me, so I'm in there too.
As usual I used some offcuts from the front to finish off the inside of my card, Fiona loves butterflies so I took the opportunity to add a gorgeous little butterfly I got in a pack from Lincraft, can't remember the brand, sorry.  It's mulberry paper with glitter on the wings, stamens for antenna and a wood bead for a body, so sweeeet!
Sundays with Chrissy, Bearly Mine Challenges and Charisma Cardz all have Anything Goes challenges on at the moment, so I'm entering there.
That's it for today, I have another card that my mum "made" for my sister, (well she did glue some of the bits on, lol).  I'll post that at a later date, there'll be a time, I'm sure when I'll be cardless and grateful to post even a simple card like that is :-)  In the meantime I'll be back in a day or so (that would be BEFORE Christmas, I hope!) with some more of my Christmas cards (not many left now, I promise). Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna (and Lylah)

Trick or Treat

This is my second post for today using some of the new release images from CC Designs, available at All That Scraps. My first post (here, or scroll down) used "Halloween Eyeball Birgitta" and this one uses two of the little darlings....Angel Birgitta and Devil Birgitta.  Why don't you go to the All That Scraps Blog and check out the rest of the DT inspiration; it really is fabarooney!!

The image panel is cut from a glittery patterned paper using Nestabilities Labels Nine, the images are coloured using Copics with just a touch of gold Diamond Stickles on the halo.  Copic Oz has All About the Hair as it's challenge theme this time...I've done a few cards where I've concentrated on the hair and I think it's paying off!  I'm entering there anyway, 'coz I like the Birgittas hair!

I used the sketch from Cupcake Craft Challenges this time, do love a nice sketch!  The Paper Shelter has a Recipe challenge this time: 1embellishment, 2 images 3 designer papers, this sketch lends itself to the three papers and my darling duo are definitely two images (I cut them out and foam dotted them for dimension, also because I wanted to used that lovely glittery background paper for the image mat, and I've used Dew Drops as my embellishment - I hope the ickle bit of ribbon doesn't count, though if I needed two embellishments I would hope that it DID count :-)
I generated the sentiment on the computer, using free fonts from DaFont...if you'd like to grab it feel free (just right-click and Save to your computer) there's a link on my Freebies page too, so it's available all the time (don't forget it's easy to alter the colour and size in Word!)  I had the sentiment panel (bit extreme calling something that size a panel, lol) attached using a beaded head pin, but it was very difficult to get it completely balanced...I did, but then decided it looked better fixed in that place anyway!

The papers I used are digis from Crafty Chaos Designs; the "Eye of Newt" collection (how cool is that name?!) I lightened them up a bit (in Photoshop, but you can achieve much the same result in Word), everything is mounted on blue card from American Crafts.This is the first time I've used these papers, I've had them sitting on my computer since I won them a LONG time ago (keeping my 150+ unused digi images company, lol) it's lovely to finally get around to using them.  I think I'm going to love digi papers as much as I love digi images...for the same reasons; they're so flexible - you can resize them,  you can change the hue, print off only as much as you need, you never run out - just print more - and they take up no room in my craftspace (plus added bonus, I can sneak them in to my stash without my hubby seeing them!) 

I used more of the paper from the Eye of Newt (that name!) collection for the inside of the card too.  I also used more of the Dew Drops that I used on the front, I was very careful what order I put them in because the way I had them at first they looked like traffic lights, lol.
The Crafty Pad has Cute and Girly as it's challenge theme, I think this card with its Cute Girlies on fits the bill, so I'm entering there.  Both Addicted to Stamps and Whoopsi Daisy Challenge have Anything Goes as their theme; definitely fits the bill there, so I'm in!
Anyway that's it for today, I'll be back on Sunday with my card for the Here Come The Boys Challenge...unless by some miracle I get something else finished before that, lol.  I hope to see you then, Happy Crafting, Dee

Wishing You a Wizard Birthday

Starting today over at Here Come The Boys is this fortnights challenge "Myth and Magic". 
It's my Uncle's birthday, so it looks like he gets a card with a Magic theme, lol.  
The sentiment (which I made on the computer) says "I'm Marvo the Magician, when you open this card you'll be 21 again.....Mmmm, I never said I was a GREAT Magician"

Fab'n'Funky Challenges has "Magnificent Men" as it's challenge theme this time, and while Marvo, by his own admission is not Magnificent, he gets entered there.   ABC Challenge this week is "W for Wish", so I'm entering there, Crafty Creations has "Over the Rainbow" as it's challenge theme, methinks a Wizard fits the bill perfectly!


The base of the card is corrugated pearl card, I love this sort of texture on men's cards. though I hardly ever use it!!  
I used this sketch from Sketch and Stash, it "suits" me as I really like symmetry.  The three stars on the lower right are glittery brads, the blue ones were white and I coloured them with my Copics.  It's a really easy way of getting a match, and you don't lose the glitter finish either. 
I inked around the edge of the image and sentiment panels to tie them in.

I've used another great digital image from Just Inklined, this is "Wizz Doodles" - isn't he cute?  He's coloured with Copics...as is the paper on the right hand panel; I just couldn't find anything to go with the stripy paper from Kaisercrafts Rewind collection (which I really liked) so I coloured up some black and white paper from a pad I've had for ages.  It means I could match the papers and the colours on the image perfectly.  
I used some Ice Stickles to add some magic! and some Gloss to his eyes.
Cards for Men has "blue and black" as its challenge theme and   Make It Colourful has Blue, so my blue and black card is "in" there.

 I mounted all the panels on blue foil card, it brightens the card up without fighting with the image and papers. They are all, including the one on the inside, popped up on foam dots -as usual, lol.  
Some of the stripy paper and a couple of strips of the blue foil complete the inside.


Creative Inspirations challenge this time is to make a card for a man, as is Crazy 4 Challenges and The Secret Crafter.  Papertake Weekly and Craft Your Passion have Anything Goes....the easiest of challenges!  So I'm entering there.
Well that's about it for my card today, I will be back in a day or so with a card for my sister-in-law....all I have to do is make it :-)  Getting the time to myself, especially with my darling husband still unable to work is a bit of a trick.  We're trying all sorts of things, but I do think that ultimately it will be Time that is the healer....he has to work onTuesday, so I'll let you know how he goes!
Thanks for looking at my efforts today, hope you like Wizz Doodles aka Marvo and that your day is full of magic.  Until next time, Happy Crafting, Dee

The Wizard's in his castle and the Witch is in..... - or is she out?

The title of this post may be a bit confusing - unless you "look at the pictures".  Both these painting projects were done as gifts for my sister Fiona, who loves all things mystical and has a particular affinity with witches (so you see I'm not being rude implying she is a witch, I'm just appealing to her sense of fun), the fact that she loves cats and that there is a cat on the piece adds to its' appeal.  My sister also has been known to have hair of this hue, and some of Witchy's legwear looks familiar too, gotta love Fi!

"The Witch is In" project is a wooden piece she keeps by her door,  the plaque can be turned over to read "The Witch is Out", but I'm not sure she ever turns it over.  I used a pattern by DeLane Lange in her book "DeLane Paints Your Special Day" and Jo Sonja Acrylic paints. 
I cut the piece out myself, using the trusty scroll saw my husband bought me for Christmas last year, I have over the years received a few non-traditional Christmas gifts all of which have been entirely appropriate for me and invariably associated with craft: This year for my birthday, my eldest son bought me a heat gun -  as he doesn't know craft but does know tools it is a chunky industrial model that will outlast me, and as it was given and opened in a busy restaurant at my birthday dinner, to much excitement by ME, we got some very interesting looks "why is that woman so excited to get a drill" (that's what it looks like) and so on.  I don't know, there was the same fuss when I got my Dremel (specialist cutting tool), my framing tools, my bench grinder.......anyway, I digress.
 The second project is "Red Castle Wizard".  This plaque I also made and it was, as I recall, the first one I did using my router.  When I say "first" I should say this completed project is the end result of about fifty efforts with the router, the first 49 "ending in tears"  mine.  M-an, routers are hard to use!  It is from a pattern by Joy Vagg, which appeared in "Australian Folk Art & Decorative Painting, Vol 12 #10.  The technique used is known as pen and wash, whereby you start with a very light background (these become your highlights), draw in all the lines with a fine permanent marker, then wash the base coats of colour in.  The last step is to apply the shading, primarily with stronger applications of the base colours, strengthening them with darker shades.  Some pen and wash projects have the shading drawn in with the pen, this one didn't.  It is very much the idea behind colouring stamped images, particularly if you use copics or similar.

 Anyway, that's it for today. I hope that this isn't the only post I make with a Halloween theme before the end of the month, but if it is, at least I got these characters out there.  Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget I'll be "witching" you and have a "wizard" time crafting.......again, I hear you all groan, but I KNOW you love the corn really, Dee.

Dragon or Dinosaur Egg??

Thought I would post a few pictures of an egg I did for my sister a few years ago - she loves all things fantastical so I get my fix of wizards and witches, dragons and fairies, butterflies and whimsy by making gifts for Fi! 
 The egg is an ostrich egg, I cut it in half horizontally in a zigzag.  I then cut the top in half in a zigzag, the pictures speak for themselves really.  I painted the outside in a teal colour and then a coat of Duncan Pearl Acrylic.  Inside is lined with a stretch metallic type fabric: my sons were in the ballroom dancing circuit at the time and I had access to scraps of all kinds of fabrics, I still use some of the bits of lace and trim I got from their partners!

Dina the dragon baby (what else do you expect to find in an egg!) was a cheap ornament I found in a discount store, I painted her up and added a  bit of bling.  How cute is she?!  






I really love her little baby bottle, she has green Swarowski crystals along her spine and two tiny red ones in her nostrils.  

I'll post some more of these mystical themed projects soon, it seems appropriate coming up to Halloween!

Hope you enjoyed meeting Dina, see you soon - until then time will just drag-on (I can hear you groan from here!) Dee

Trick or Treat? that is the question

 This is "Witchy Emma" by CC Designs, yes AGAIN with the CC Designs - anybody would think I LOVE these images! The background image is one of theirs as well it is the Swiss Pixies Halloween Scene. 
Emma is entering a competition at All That Scraps, using this sketch.  I have stuck pretty much to it except I have used two embellishments at the bottom right being the eyeballs of Emma's little friend,  Two Peas in a Bucket also have a challenge on, "make a Halloween card", so this card is "going" there too.
The card itself is purple, from DCWV Jewel stack. The great Halloween paper is called "Oogie Boogie", isn't that cute?  I don't know the manufacturer, I was so busy cutting it up I didn't take note.  The green strip is DCWV self adhesive    card from their Brights mat stack and the orange paper is from Kaisercrafts Hippy Girl collection.  

 I coloured the background for the image with sponge daubers using Antique Blue and Aubergine pigment inks.  The moon I coloured with an orange marker then highlighted with yellow marker then yellow pigment ink; Emma's skin,the fence and leaves with Copics, the rest with markers.  I "fussy cut" (just heard that term and HAD to use it) Emma and popped her up on foam dots.
D'vine Swirls Cuttlebug embossing folder gave a bit of texture to the circle behind the main image.  I like the way the shape of the circle and the moon "reflect" each other; in fact when I saw the sketch I knew I just had to use this image which I haven't used until now!
The sentiment, which I just realised doesn't have a question mark, is made up from  "Tiny Letters" stickers on a few strips of leftovers from the card itself; what I have discovered - after much cursing - is that it is best to NOT try and line up these little letters, just let them go a bit "au naturel".
Emma's little friend's (or is that fiend's? haha) eyeballs have been in one of my crafting cupboards for YEARS, lucky I could find them.  Thanks for looking, hope you like "Witchy Emma", I sure do and will be making more Halloween cards and  also birthday etc cards with the "Witching you a......" type sentiment. Until then, remember I'll be "witching" you - oh, does the wit never end........