Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Best Witches for Halloween 2012

Following SuperStorm Sandy, things are beginning to get back to normal around here -- for some of us, at least. 

We were without power for only about 3 hours, from 8:30 p.m. until about midnight on Monday 10/29.  However, my daughter Emily and her family (husband Josh and 22-month old daughter Charlotte) just got power back about 10 minutes ago.  They camped out with us for the duration.  

We love them ... and they love us ... and of course they are always welcome here. I will say though, we are all creatures of our own comforts. Even Charlotte wanted to go to "my house" after a while, and sleep in her own crib. 

So anyway, Happy Halloween!!   Here are a few cards I've made this year, as well as last. Enjoy!!






(Inside of card, above)








DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Monday, October 29, 2012

Hurricane Sandy update

OK, I am officially worried. 

We have not been evacuated, we are not in a flood plain. We do not have large trees around our home. My doctor's appointment for tomorrow has been cancelled. I am trying to craft to distract myself, but I think my time might be better spent cooking. A lasagna?  Good idea.  Here is what I'm looking at now:



P.S.  In case my roof's ripped off with Hurricane Sandy, do not have sympathy for how my PaperJungle looks.  It ALWAYS looks like a tornado struck, so why would it look any different if a hurricane hit?  

Smile. What other choice do we have?


DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Card Clinic: Sympathy card

Just a quick post today so I can get to the post office in due time. I have cards, bills, and blog candy to mail! 

Here is a card I made for a blogger friend, Lissa Marie, to express sympathy on the recent loss of her father.  To make the card, I used the precut pieces provided by Shanna Vineyard in her "Art Made With Heart" monthly card kit.  Sad to say (though I do empathize!), Shanna is discontinuing her card kit service this month due to family demands.

I am so sorry for your loss, Lissa Marie.

DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Many hands make light work.

For more than a year, I've been associated with the lovely Madison Womack, who founded the "I Feel The Love Project" to bring joy to the ill, underprivileged or needy through handmade cards.  
Madison is a high school senior this year, and she is about to surpass her goal for June 2013 of having distributed more than 1,000 cards to those in need.


Each month, Madison selects one deserving recipient (either an individual or a group). Last year's Halloween cards were donated with our banners to Pediatric Specialty Care; earlier this year, one of PSC's young patients (Brandon) received individual greetings. More on Brandon later!

For October 2012, Madison has asked for Thanksgiving cards to benefit the residents of the Surrey Place Care Center in Live Oak, Florida. For many of these residents, the donated card may be the only greeting they receive during this time for giving gratitude. 

I am happy to help, for one blessing for which I am most grateful is that I still have both parents, living in Florida independently in their own home. They're both in their 80's, have been married for 61+ years, and though they have had health issues in the last five years, they are still going strong. I miss them (they're 1200 miles from me!), though I know they are healthy and happy because of the temperate climate in Florida. 

Here are some Thanksgiving cards that I made to mail to Madison.  They are made from The Card Kitchen's October card kit:

As promised, let me give you a little update on Brandon:
For those who may not recall, Brandon was the victim of child abuse and domestic violence. The man Brandon loved as his stepfather (now deceased) raised his hands to Brandon in anger, resulting in what doctors called Brandon's brain death. Brandon's mom Linda was asked if she wanted to "pull the plug" twice. She took Brandon's hand in hers and asked for a sign, and his fingers moved. Now -- a year later -- Brandon is still fighting, still hanging in, and responds to his teachers at bedside!  

Because "hands" have meant so much to Brandon's family (both positively and negatively), Linda has started a campaign to have handprints sent to Brandon as a sign of community support. She is working hard -- with training, fundraising, and home modifications -- to bring Brandon home. Will you help Brandon?  


Send a handprint or more ... a card, a gift, compassion, a contribution. This family is so deserving, and  so very needy. If you need more information on Brandon, here is the website of the family friends who are helping Linda in her efforts to Bring Brandon Home: http://facebook.com/helpingbrandon



DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Sunday, October 21, 2012

We've got a winner!

Thank you to everyone who visited yesterday's Christmas Tag Swap Hop.

While it will take a bit to determine who commented on ALL of the blogs to qualify for our Blog Hop prizes (a set of tags for two lucky commenters), Randy of Random.org was able to pick the CardMonkey prize winner (of the set of three Copic markers) this morning ...


S/He picked lucky number 13 ...

... who happens to be one of the members of our Scraps to Treasures team, none other than ROBIN L. who said ...


Congratulations, Robin!  Please shoot an e-mail to me at cardmonkey@ comcast.net with your mailing address, and I'll get your markers out to you quickly! Feel free to post this button on your sidebar, if you'd like.

Thanks for playing along, everyone! 



DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Saturday, October 20, 2012

STT Team Tag Swap Blog Hop -- It's Christmas!

It is my pleasure this month to host the Scraps To Treasures Team's blog hop, and today, it's a Tag Swap. Our sub-theme is Christmas!  Can you believe Christmas is coming and it's right around the corner?


Christmas tags always come in handy, that's for sure!  You can use them on gifts, or even as a gift ... as a card or on a card.  I enjoy making tags to allow me to try out new techniques without wasting a lot of paper. I also enjoy them because they're quick to do -- and in this busy season, there's a lot to be said about instant gratification of a project DONE!


I cut the tags from a single sheet of Brilliant White #130
cardstock -- thick enough so the coloring won't show through.

I used a Sizzix tag die I purchased on eBay for dirt cheap ($6).

Next, I used a scrap of Square 1 adhesive, repositionable fabric
and used it over and over for each one -- and was able to save
the mask for future use, too.  I stamped the snowman image
(from Jane's Doodles) onto the Square 1 and fussy-cut it to make
the mask.

I applied the mask to the tag I was working on, and then sprayed the
background using my Copic Air Brush System. Since it's
alcohol-based ink (markers) it dries quickly and I could move
my mask to the next tag right away.

With all the tags airbrushed, I then stamped the snowman onto
the white opening left by the mask. I also stamped just the scarf
portion onto a SCRAP of holiday paper, and was able to fit 12
scarves on the 5x5" scrap. I fussy-cut all of the scarves and will
save the leftover scarves with the stamp to use them at another date. 

Then I set about coloring the image using my Copic markers -- just
three shades of gray, two shades of orange and a splash of pink
mixed with a blender pen, and voila!

I stamped the snowflake in white (you can barely see it) and
embossed it. Fail! So I just stamped over it with a smidge of
black Memento ink, and tied a snip of ribbon at the top.

The ribbon comes from the "Really Reasonable Ribbon Club"
to which I belong -- they send 8 or so 2 yard pieces of adorable
seasonable ribbon automatically (auto-pay, too) each month. 



Here is my tag:

For my collection of 8 tags to swap, I used several techniques that are new for me:

1. Die cutting with a new Sizzix die

2. Masking, using adhesive fabric media from Square 1

3. Copic Air Brushing

4. Embossing (snowflake)

5. Paper piecing

6. Rubber stamping 

7. Copic coloring and shading

8. Ribbon from a monthly ribbon club 

When you read my description (caption) of how I made these, it will sound like it took forever to make 8 of these tags for the swap -- but not so! Once I figured out what stamp I wanted to use, the whole process was done in less than 40 minutes. 

Alrighty, then ...

Now I'm going to send you off to the rest of our Scraps to Treasures Team to show you what tags they have made ...

BUT WAIT!  I have to tell you about BLOG CANDY!  First, the HOP special: Two randomly chosen commenters who have left posts on ALL of the Christmas Tag Swap Blog Stops will each receive a set of tags (one of each tag seen on the hop) ...in other words, you'll get our swap, without having to kick in a tag of your own. What a deal! 

ALSO, I have my OWN blog candy!  Leave a comment on THIS blog, be a CardMonkey follower, AND leave me a way to reach you when you win, and you'll be eligible to win a set of THREE new Copic Sketch markers that I've purchased!  That's right -- set of THREE!  :) 

READY to MOVE ON?  Here is your next stop: It's LISSA MARIE at So Many Crafts!

Here are all of the stops in case you get lost. If you find broken links, please e-mail me at cardmonkey@comcast.net so I can fix them ASAP.  THANK YOU again for visiting us today at the monthly Scraps To Treasures Blog Hop!

1. Ellen - http://cardmonkeyspaperjungle.com/
2. Lissa Marie - www.somanycrafts.com
3. Pam - http://mzlavr2.blogspot.com/

    


DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Friday, October 19, 2012

Digi Techneek Week offers a Crafter's University!

Just a quick reminder: this week has been "Teach Me That Digi Technique Week".  There are very informative posts and digital tutorials posted by five gals who have each given lessons that you'll want to bookmark and revisit:

Click HERE for "How to make a BLOG BUTTON or create your own graphics"
Presented by: Lissa Marie at So Many Crafts, So Little Time

Click HERE for "BLOGGING 101:  How to write HTML code to apply to your blog"
Presented by: Jenn at Just Add Water, Silly

Click HERE for "How to create DIGITAL SKETCHES for cardmaking and layouts"
Presented by: Jennifer at Crafty Card Gallery

Click HERE for "Your Digital Stamping Primer, complete with Resource List"
Presented by: Ellen at CardMonkey's Paper Jungle

Click HERE for "How to use your new SIlhouette Cameo's software"
Presented by: Pam at MzLavr2's Creations    

 
 
DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Teach Me That Digi Technique Week: All You Ever Wanted To Know About Digital Stamping


A few months ago, Lissa Marie (of www.somanycrafts.com) and I were chatting it up online about how neat it might be to offer some technique classes about all of the nifty things available to crafters with even the slightest bit of "digital know-how."  And thus, "Teach Me That Digi Technique Week Blog Hop" was born.  

This is gonna be a fun hop everyone because we have a little bit of everything for you!  Since we didn't want to bog you down with a full day of tutorials, we have broken this up into a week long hop.  So if you're starting here be sure to go back to the start.

DAY 1: Lissa's tutorial is creating your own graphics, how to make a blog button. You can read her post here: http://somanycrafts.com/2012/10/14/teach-me-that-digi-technique-blog-hop/

DAYS 2 and 3: My soul sister, Jenn McLean, chimes in with a fabulous 2-day post on how to write HTML code and apply it to your blog.  It starts here, and do scroll down to the second day's post, too.  http://www.justaddwatersilly.com/2012/10/teach-me-that-digi-technique-blog-hop.html  

DAY 4: Jennifer R of Crafty Card Gallery shows us how she makes digital sketches for her Sketch Challenge Group, and how you can make them, too!  Hop over to her post that went up yesterday at http://craftycardgallery.blogspot.com/2012/10/digi-technique-sketches.html


DAY 5: (Today) is me ... 

And tomorrow (DAY 6, Friday October 19) you should stop back to visit Pam Lavertu, who will be finishing off the hop at http://mzlavr2.blogspot.com/2012/10/teach-me-that-digi-technique-blog-hop.html, teaching you about Silhouette Cameo software and what that Cameo can do!

So that business out of the way, let me get to my post:  

I must sayI rely heavily on my computer for my crafting -- whether it's to blog about it, get ideas from sources like other blogs or Pinterest, finding new fonts, sourcing images and buying craft supplies.  I've cut SVGs for years by linking my computer to my Cricut, and I've done digital stamping ...

Heck, I even found my husband John online -- and that was 18 years ago, waaaay before cybercafes, online dating services, Google, eBay, and the movie "You've Got Mail."  In fact, online dating was so rare in 1994 that I was invited to go on OPRAH! to talk about it.  (No, I didn't go.

Do a web search inquiry to learn when online dating began and you'll find that Friendfinder and Match.com began in 1995 and 1996, respectively, and are listed as the "start of online dating", yet John and I connected via a Prodigy matchmaking bulletin board in September of 1994!
  
So I'll just take a crown for my digital prowess and move on to today's topic.  I'm going to tell you all you ever wanted to know about digital stamping!

 

What are Digital Stamps?

Digital stamps, also known as “digi-stamps,” are typically black and white computerized images that are sold or offered free to crafters who wish to use their computers as a tool to add any of a wide variety of images to their cards, layouts or projects.

Think of a digital stamp as an image that you’ve stamped and then scanned into your computer.  However, you won’t be dealing with the physical stamp – no more wood or acrylic blocks, no more ink pads, no more physical storage issues.  You won’t have to worry about cleaning your stamps or inky fingers.  And a digital image won’t wear out or warp, so you can use it over and over for an unlimited number of times.

The greatest advantage to a digital stamp over a physical wood mount or acrylic stamp is that before printing it out, any digital image can be resized, flipped horizontally or vertically, stretched or manipulated in whatever way you want. You adjust your saved image on-screen; if you don’t like how you’ve changed it, simply delete your new file (don’t save over the original image!) and start fresh. 

For more on the Pros and Cons on Digital Stamping, read my FULL LIST by clicking HERE

OK, I’m ready to get into Digital Stamping. Now what?

The first, most obvious thing you need to do is find an image that you want to use.  There are many, many individuals and companies that now create and/or broker designs that you can purchase; some offer “freebies” as well for you to try out digital stamping, such as the Hambo Stamp of Cool Cat shown at left.

I maintain a list of the companies that I visit most frequently to shop for digital images.  As of today, that list includes 65 sources.  

For my FULL LIST of digital stamp companies, click HERE.   

My top ten favorite sites for digital images are:


Mo's Digital Pencil http://www.mosdigitalpencil.com/
MelJen Designs http://meljensdesigns.com/
Hambo Stamps http://hambostamps.com/digishop/
Lettering Delights http://letteringdelights.com/
Pure Innocence (Heather Ellis) http://www.heather-ellis.co.uk/
Wee Stamps http://www.weestamps.com/?page_id=27
Whimsy Stamps http://whimsystamps.com/
Squigglefly http://www.squigglefly.com/index.php/shop/
Tiddly Inks http://www.tiddlyinks.com/digital-stamps/
A Day For Daisies http://adayfordaisies.com/


Once you find an image on one of these sites, you’ll set up an account with that vendor (a few clicks of the buttons) and pay for your image, usually using PayPal. I have found that most sites prefer or only accept PayPal, as it is recognized and respected worldwide as a fast, easy and trustworthy payor.  And, if you purchase from an international vendor, your currency is automatically converted for you to the day's lowest available rate. Shopping for an image drawn in South Africa is just as quick and painless as shopping for one in South Philadelphia, with PayPal!

After paying for your image, you will either have immediate access to your purchase to download, or you will receive it within 24-48 hours via an e-mail.  Download your image and save it onto your computer, in a folder on your computer where you know they will be when you want to use them.

What will my digital file look like when I get it?

Most often, images are provided to you in a “zipped” folder.  Think of a “zipped” folder as a box that can be packed full for easy transfer to you from the digital stamp company; you’ll need to unpack the box or “unzip” before you can see/use the digi stamps inside.  Most PC and MAC computers come equipped with software or a utility that allows this unzipping or “extracting” of files.   

If you do not have this software or utility on your computer, Zipeg (www.zipeg.com) offers a free, downloadable Windows-based program to unzip any file on either a PC or MAC. 

Most digital images (when they are unzipped) are in a JPG and/or PNG file format.  JPG (also, JPEG) is an image format file that stands for Joint Photographic Group, meaning that points making up a line are digitally assembled and grouped on a white background that together create an image.  PNG is another image format file that stands for Portable Network Group. It is basically the same as a JPG file except that the points are transferrable (“portable”) so that the background can be transparent.  The advantage of a PNG file over a JPEG file is that PNG files can be easily grouped and layered to create a scene or combined image.  This gives a stamper a wide range of design opportunities.

How should I organize my digital stamps to use them easiest?

Now that you have unpacked/unzipped your files, I find that it is easiest if you start your organization process on your personal computer when you begin to buy digital images. If you’d like, you can categorize and save multiple copies of your image to different electronic files on your own computer. For example, I create a file for each of the companies or designer names where I store one copy, so I can give credit where credit is due for the image. (Often companies require such credit, in their Angel Policies. More on that later.)  I may also save a copy describing the image and grouped with same/similar images; for example, I have a file on my computer that says “Santa”.

I save copies of my digital purchases on my computer’s hard drive because I have a lot of memory there. However, I also keep a copy of all of my digital purchases on a small flash (or “thumb”) drive. This makes them very portable to use with my laptop at crops, or with my upstairs/crafting computer versus my downstairs/office computer. (Yes, I have a lot of computers in the house!  That’s what happens when you’re married to a computer geek!)  

A word about sharing:  Your digital purchases are your digital purchases. They are for your personal use only. They are not for redistribution, sharing (either electronically or swapped), lending, or reselling to anyone else.  Under most Angel Policies or Terms of Use (TOU), you may print them out, color/use them on your cards that you sell, but you cannot mass produce the image for sale.  Your digital image will come with a TOU or copyright notice; please respect it. 

So I’ve bought my image. Now what?

Once the images are on your computer, you have to place them, or open them in some sort of photo editing program or printing program in order to flip them, resize them, and print them. There are many programs to use for printing images, but Microsoft Word seems to be one of the simplest applications to use your images in a very basic way. 

Here are general instructions using Microsoft Word to print your image. (Your actual instructions might vary slightly, depending on what vintage MS Word program you’re using.)
  • Open a new document
  • Click on the tab marked "Insert"
  • Select "Picture"
  • Browse your computer folders and find the digital image file that you saved to your computer and click on it.
  • Click "insert"
  • Now that the image is in your document, to resize it, simply put your mouse cursor over one of the corners of the image and left click on it and hold the click down as you move (click and drag) to resize the image to the desired size.
  • Or you can right click on the image and select "Size”.  Find the sizing tab in the drop-down menu to set an actual dimension size in the space provided.
  • Click OK
  • You can right click and select "bring to front" or "move to back" with PNG files to overlap images
  • Add more images or copy and paste the image you just inserted to fill the page, as you wish, or print just one image on the sheet if you intend to use it alone on your card.
  • Save your Word doc (with a unique file name) for quick access/printing in the future.
If you’d prefer to have more options in how to arrange, layer, color and save your images, you may want to invest in a photo editing or graphics software program.  I have used digital images in Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Paintshop, Adobe Illustrator and several other similar programs. 

I’m ready to print. Does the type of printer and paper I use make a difference?
The type of printer and paper you use will depend on how (and even, if) you intend to color your digital image after it is printed.  Are you planning on coloring with markers, and are those markers water- or alcohol-based?  Are you using colored pencils, and if so, do you intend to use a blender pen or Gamsol to blend those pencils?  Answers to these questions will help guide your decisions on which printer and paper to use.

Generally speaking, there are two sorts of printers we crafters use with our computers: laser and inkjet.  Laser printers lay down a fine laser-guided toner onto the paper in a process that is very similar to heat embossing.  However, the chemicals used with most laser toners do not interact well with alcohol-based markers, blender pens or Gamsol. If you intend to use Copics or another alcohol-based marker, or other chemical, you’re better off using an inkjet printer for your project.

However, even inkjet printers can cause smudging with Copics and other chemicals, so run some tests of your own equipment (printers and coloring media) to see how your printer’s ink fares with your markers.  Inkjet printers use droplets of ink that you should allow to dry before coloring.  Some advise hours of drying; others say overnight.  You can help speed the drying process by heat-setting the ink with your embossing gun. 

I will tell you that I am almost always in a hurry when I’m coloring digital images, and so I really don’t give a lot of time for drying. (Do as I say, not as I do.)  I find that if I am careful about not touching up against the inked line of an image, coloring up to and not over a line, I can avoid most smudging.  I use Copic markers pretty much exclusively, and I have had very little issue with smudging.

The type of paper you use can also determine if your image will smudge and/or color well.  There are a wide range of cardstocks now available specifically for coloring digital images.  Be guided by the fact that the smoother the paper, the easier it will be to blend your inks or pencils, giving a more natural and beautiful look to your digital image. However, the smoother paper requires more drying time, as the inkjet ink lies on top of the surface of the paper instead of soaking in.

There is an interesting effect you can achieve with these smoother papers and your inkjet: embossing the ink.  To do this, you’ll need to have your embossing supplies near your printer, as the sooner you hit the ink with the embossing powder, the better.  As soon as your image ejects from the inkjet printer, put the paper onto a lipped cookie sheet that you use just for this purpose. Sprinkle the inked image with clear embossing powder; give it a few seconds to adhere before gently flicking the excess off your image. Heat set the embossing powder over your inkjet ink, using your embossing heat gun.  Allow the image to set/cool before applying your coloring media.  

On paper:  I have run several tests on which paper I like to use with my Copic markers and digital images. My favorite is a paper called Brilliant White 130#, available from www.discountcardstock.com.  I have found it’s a little tough to feed into my inkjet paper, due to its thickness, so I have to handfeed (a little shove).  I like it because it allows smooth blending, it rarely smudges, and it does not allow the Copic marker to bleed through to the back side of the paper. This is important if I am coloring an image directly onto a card (“clean and simple”).

Now, truth be told, I do a lot of digital stamping for my cards. Here are just a few of them that I posted within the last year:
















I hope this post inspires you to get out and try your hand at digital stamping.  In case you ever want to go back to reference it or any of my linked pages, I've added a Digital Stamp Resources box at the top right of my blog. 
^ see it up there?  

Next week, I'll be showing coloring techniques for Digital Stamps, using a variety of coloring mediums (I still want to say media!)I'll be looking at a comparison of alcohol markers in the future, as well as comparing papers for coloring. Stay tuned, and let me know how I can help you best!  

Thanks for stopping by!  
 
DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,