Step Into Christmas {Cardz 4 Galz}

Hello, blogging friends and visitors! It's great to see you this morning, and I hope you are doing well.

DING! DING! DING! Time for a new challenge at Cardz 4 Galz Challenges today!
Badges are awarded for the Spotlight Winner and Top Picks.

Challenge #48 is chosen by teamie Tina -and the theme is:

  Inspired by a Song.  

Show us your cards using any theme as long as it is inspired by a song!
Be sure to say what the song is!  

Challenge ends on June 7.

Working on my Christmas cards again!

Song: Step into Christmas

the lyrics begin:

Welcome to my Christmas song

I'd like to thank you for the year

So I'm sending you this Christmas card

To say it's nice to have you here

I'd like to sing about all the things
Your eyes and mind can see
So hop aboard the turntable
Oh step into Christmas with me

The song and its lyrics can be enjoyed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUSl3nwnPA0

A sparkling Creation!

It's a SNOW COVERED, old-fashioned Christmas House using lots of OLD STUFF from my stash!  The card is A7 (7.5" x 5.75")

The stamp was copyrighted in 1999, given to me by a friend. Red-faced, I admit that it was virginal! Yikes! It's by a company named VIP STAMPING.
Stamped with VersaMark and heat set with White Detail EP.
Old SB frame die cut.
Old MS holly border punch.
A virginal "Elegant Snowfall" embossing folder.

Four colors of glitter:

Champagne on one poinsettia layer,
Gold on the flower center,
Diamond Dust on the snow around the house grounds,
and Starfire glitter all over the roof and smoke.
Adhered with the medium NUVO Pen - I'm so addicted to those pens.

A little dry embossing for the snow, pretty punches and die cuts finish it off!

Now TWO Christmas cards are in my STASH (laughing here)

Linda's Peaceful Place recently shared this incredible video:

I never cease to marvel at how kind creatures are to human beings despite everything we do.

Challenges I'd like to support:

1. A Snowflake's Promise #40 "Anything Christmas Goes 6/13
2. Always Fun Challenges #7 "Anything Goes" 5/29
3. Christmas at Sweet Stampin' May - Anything Christmas Goes 6/10
4. Christmas Cards all Year Long May - Christmas Precipitation 6/1 - (The stamp is covered with snow covered with glitter, the ground is also coated with snowy glitter, the rooftops are coated with snowy glitter, an embossing folder called Elegant Snowfall was used.)
5. Crafting by Designs (May 24) - "Get Ready for Christmas" 5/30
6. The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge  #6 Anything Christmas Goes 5/29
7. The Merry Christmas Challenge Blog May - Anything Christmas Goes + Option of Gingerbread 6/1
8. Addicted to Stamps Holidays - (Christmas) 5/29

Stamping Hugs,

Completely Digital {Sparkle N Sprinkle}

Greetings!

Hope you are doing well, and enjoying your week.

THERE'S A NEW CHALLENGE IN TOWN:

DIGITALLY MADE CHALLENGES

I've never made a completely digital project, and thought I'd give it a try this morning.

Not having any fancy programs, I used my trusty word processor, and products already in my digital stash:

Hopefully I've followed the rules correctly as this is NOT printed out. If it were printed out, there would only the one base layer, no texture, no glitter, no embossing powder, no embellishments (giggling).

Using:

Milton Chasing Snowflakes (Beccy Muir)

Christmas Paper (Fred She Said)

Vibrant Watercolor Paper (Fred She Said)

WWFlakes (snowflake fonts)

Samantha (fonts)

Bank Gothic (fonts)

Flying Birds (Fred She Said)

Pretty Laces (Creative Market)

The Snowflakes on the right side, and scattered throughout the background papers are from a font called WWFlakes. These are not treated like JPGs or PNGs - they are actual transparent FONTS, and the sizing is done in the same manner. I converted a large Font Image (size 144) into a PNG and made the outside transparent, so that I could then resize an opaque image, rather than the font's transparent image.

Here is are the components for the horizontal lace panel. It is two resized lace PNGs:

A Festive Blue Milton Giraff is colored with Copic Markers AND taken from a card I made last year.

I scanned the image, made the background transparent, selected a shadow from my word processor, and placed him on an oval shape:

The sentiment seemed appropriate for such a cute project!

The Bank Gothic and Samantha fonts were used. In Font Manager, I selected a fancy "w" and "r" to positioned those in place of the standard letters:

I learned a lot of things this morning! Laughing and grateful to not have a big mess to clean up!

Hopefully I followed the rules and spirit of the new Challenge Blog! I wasn't sure if we were supposed to show some of our steps or not.

My TIP for other newbies to digital art is:

When using transparent PNGs on a colored background, you may wish to perform a FILE> SAVE AS> JPG and save a JPG version as well as your PNG. That way, if you prefer not to create a separate white layer behind the image or sentiment, it will already be done for you in the JPG.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE:

Our area was very fortunate to have THREE inches of rain on Saturday.

This was a tremendous asset to the brave firefighters trying to contain the lingering wild fires. There have been 2100 fires since the beginning of the year, most started by lightning, kindling the dry forests and swamps.

Florida contains lots of "swamp land", and lots of swamp muck. When dried, this muck can smolder beneath the surface until the rainy season begins. Many areas about 20-30 miles to the south of us only received 1/4 inch of rain, so the fires continue smoldering and re-igniting. Schools, parks, and nature preserves have closed or are open part time, for the safety of students and visitors.

While we are grateful to see our pastures green up, we hope that more rain comes soon.

Milton Chasing Snowflakes is available in the SNS store with PNG images so you can create overlapping scenes without the white square showing up. 

Submitted to these fine challenges:

1. Digitally Made Challenges #1 "Anything Goes 100% Digital" 6/1
2. Beccy's Place Challenge -May- Anything Goes using a Beccy Muir image 6/1

Thanks for stopping by today.

hugs,

Also available in rubber 

Texture It Up! {Cardz 4 Galz}

Hello, blogging friends and visitors! It's great to see you this morning, and I hope you are doing well.

A DESIGN TEAM CALL AND new challenge begins at Cardz 4 Galz Challenges today!
Badges are awarded for the Spotlight Winner and Top Picks.

Challenge #47 is chosen by teamie Sian -and the theme is:

  Add Texture to Your Card.  

Show us your cards using any and all manner of textures - 

Challenge ends on May 24.

IF INTERESTED in an enjoyable, lay-back, easy-to-manage DESIGN TEAM
THIS WOULD BE IT!
Caz, our DT Coordinator, is the nicest, most kind coordinator I've had the pleasure of designing with - so don't hesitate contacting her if you're interested!

Leaving my proverbial box behind, I made my first Christmas card of the year - sigh - so much for good intentions of 2 Christmas cards per month! 

Lots of Textures and Lots of "Old Stuff" from my stash!

1. KandCompany printed Christmas paper which has to be at least 10 years old! Yikes! 
2. Rhinestone sparklies (2 years old? 3 years old?) added to the columns on the paper.
3. One of my first digital images ever - I don't know who drew it, but it's cute! (colored with Copics)
4. Virginal Sizzix rosettes, inked on the edges, and topped with glittered snowflake brads which are at least 10 years old (another yikes!)
5. Glitter Tinsel, again, at least 4 or 5 years old.
6. Pretty striped grosgrain ribbon which is also several years old.
7. Not to mention the cheesecloth from MY GREAT AUNT AGNES' COOKING STASH! (double yikes! since it must be from the 1960s or 1970s).
8. Good standbys like Starfire Glitter to jazz up the Chloe Stems.

I love the rosettes on other people's cards, and I finally used my Sizzix die which has two sizes of rosettes cut out in a single pass:

I am falling more deeply in love with the Nuvo Glue Pens. This time I used the medium tip on these tiny brads, and dredged with Starfire G1017 Ultrafine Glitter. The glitter is rock hard on the brads! Pleasant surprise. I even pressed down hard and rubbed, and no glitter came off! 

Starfire G1017 Ultrafine Glitter is also adhered to the Chloe Stems and the merry blue circles in the image.

Tomato Red Glitter Tinsel was glued onto the SB foliage pieces to give a little extra sparkle and texture to the floral spray. (even the die cuts are all old!)

I thoroughly enjoyed using all my "old stuff"!

Products:
Image - unknown digital, colored with Copic markers (one of my first)
SB Dies - Foliage, Big Scallop Ovals, Labels Four
Sizzix Die - Tim Holtz Mini Paper Rosettes
Memory Box Die - Chloe Stem
Tomato Red Glitter Tinsel
Starfire G1017 Ultrafine Glitter
KandCompany Christmas paper (old, old)
Rhinestones, striped ribbon, Cheesecloth, Brads

Challenges I'd like to support with this card:

1. A Perfect Time to Craft Open Challenge #5 May - Anything Goes 6/1
2. A Snowflakes Promise #40 Anything Goes Christmas or Winter - 6/10
3. Cheerful Sketches Challenge #May - Sketch - 6/1
4. Christmas Card Challenges #12 Anything Christmas + Optional Photo 5/20
5. Christmas Card Throwdown #May 6 - Sketch with Many Layers - 5/21
6. Christmas At Sweet Stampin' Challenges #May 10 - "Anything Christmas" 6/10
7. Crafty Gals Corner #122 BLING! 5/17 (rows of rhinestones, lots of glitter on brads and die cuts)
8. Crafty Girls Creations Challenges #36 Anything Goes 6/1
9. The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #5 Anything Christmas Goes 5/14 sep post
10. World Wide Open Design Team Challenge #21 Anything for a DT 5/1

Stamping Smiles,