Challenge #20 PEARLS AND LACE

Welcome to this week's challenge!  Thank you for all the fabulous creations shared in our last challenge! Before we challenge you, our Prize Winner from Challenge #19 IN STITCHES has been drawn from random.org...  this week we offer our congratulations to...

 Entry #14 Colleen Holmes ...

COLLEEN, please contact me (Pauline) at the yahoo email on the right, and we will organise you to collect your prize!  Thank you Limited Runs, for being part of our family of sponsors... we love our returning sponsors!

And in no particular order, our Top 3 Winners are....

#2 Natali

#5 Tammylee

# 43 Siv Kristin

Swing on by, and collect your Top 3 badge from our left sidebar... congratulations, everyone!!

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To our next challenge!  We're in a bit of a romantic mood this week, so we would love to see your creations embellished in

PEARLS and LACE

Our sponsor this week is another fabulous returning sponsor DI'S DIGI DOWNLOADS! Di is so talented with the pen, her designs are gorgeous, and there are so many for all occasions!  Our randomly drawn challenge winner will receive a $10 credit at the shop, which equals about 4 images, or they can choose to use it as a discount of a larger order! Woohoo! 

Our Design Team has been designing a storm this week, and are surely to wow you with their creations in Pearls and Lace! We hope you find inspiration in them (they always amaze me)!

Anne-Marie

Audrey

Grandma Bonnie

Jenee

Jennifer

Pauline

Trish

(For details of each creation, click on the DT names, to visit their blogs!)

We would love to see your creations in PEARLS AND LACE ... Come along and join us! 


(If our challenge Linky has disappeared or isn't working,
please leave a comment on this post, with a link to your creation.... you will be counted!

Challenge #19 IN STITCHES!

Welcome to this week's challenge!  Thank you for all the fabulous creations shared in our last challenge!


Our Prize Winner from Challenge #18 GENTLE/PASTEL COLOURS  has been drawn from random.org...  this week we offer our congratulations to...

 Entry #68 Mary Anne ...

Mary Anne, please contact me (Pauline) at the yahoo email on the right, and I will whisk your prize off to you post haste!  Thank you Leigh, at Happileigh Scrappin', for being part of our family of sponsors!

And in no particular order, our Top 3 Winners are....

#9 Wendy (Papersniffer)

#32 Cathy D

#55 Victoria

Swing on by, and collect your Top 3 badge from our left sidebar... congratulations, everyone!!

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To our next challenge!  Grab your needle and thread, because we want to see you

IN STITCHES!

(Real or Faux Stitching)

What's that you say? You don't sew on your cards? That doesn't matter.... grab a pen to add some FAUX stitching detail to your card instead!

Our sponsor this week is another fabulous returning sponsor LIMITED RUNS! There is such a variety of images at Limited Runs.... something for everyone.  While you're there, check out the freebie on offer, and the many  many, CUPCAKE images!  There are cupcake images for every occasion, and I  promise they are calorie free!

Our randomly drawn challenge winner will receive their choice of 3 (three) images from the Limited Runs shop...

Our Design Team has been busy to share some awesome creations to share with you this week. We hope you find inspiration in them!

Anne-Marie

Grandma Bonnie

Jenee

Jennifer

Pauline

Trish

(For details of each creation, click on the DT names, to visit their blogs!)

We would love to see your creations in STITCHING - real stitching or faux, it doesn't matter ... 
Come along and join us! 


(If our challenge Linky has disappeared or isn't working,
please leave a comment on this post, with a link to your creation.... you will be counted!

Challenge #18 GENTLE PASTEL COLOURS

Welcome to this week's challenge!  Thank you for all the fabulous creations shared in our last challenge!


Our Prize Winner from Challenge #17 CHOCOLATE BUNNIES has been drawn from random.org...  this week we offer our congratulations to...

 Entry #15 Allisa ... 
...who's design also made it into our Top Three! Double Congratulations to you! 

(Who has been nibbling on those chocolate bunnies!)

ALLISA, please contact me (Pauline) at the yahoo email on the right, for details on how to claim your prize of 4 MelJens images!  Thank you MelJens for being part of our family of sponsors!

And in no particular order, our Top 3 Winners are....

#3 - nnaloraC

#14 - Barbara (Forgotten Scraps)

#15 - Allisa

Swing on by, and collect your Top 3 badge from our left sidebar... congratulations, everyone!!

* * * * * * * * * *

To our next challenge!  A colour challenge for you this week... we would love to see your creations in...

PASTELS or GENTLE COLOURS!

So that means, stay away from those brights and high contrasting colours!

We are excited to have a fabulous returning sponsor HAPPILEIGH SCRAPPIN'! At Happileigh Scrappin', you will find both coloured and uncoloured images, with a fabulous selection to choose for every occasion!  We dare you to stop at just one! AND... there is always a "Buy 3, get one FREE" special for you!!!

Our randomly drawn challenge winner will receive the 4 Sponsor images the Design Team has created with - coloured and uncoloured! What a fabulous prize!

Our Design Team has outdone themselves yet again, and share some beautiful creations with you this week, and we hope you find inspiration in them!

Anne-Marie

Audrey

Grandma Bonnie

Jenee

Jennifer

Pauline

Trish

(For details of each creation, click on the DT names, to visit their blogs!)

We would love to see your creations in PASTELS/GENTLE COLOURS ... so come and share with us! 


(If our challenge Linky has disappeared or isn't working,
please leave a comment on this post, with a link to your creation.... you will be counted!

TUTORIAL - GOING FROM FLAT TO FABULOUS COLORING

Hello everyone!  Hope you are all doing well and remember, you have another day and a half to enter our challenge (closes at 8pm EST Thursday).  You can find it right below this post.

This is Audrey today and I just want to do a little coloring tutorial.  Mind you, it's very basic and would have been much better if I knew how to record it, but alas, I do not, so hopefully my pictures will provide a good enough description of what I am trying to demonstrate.

Have you ever colored an image and what you see looking back at you on the page appears incredibly flat, lifeless and dull?  This can happen no matter how cute or detailed the image is because in order to give a realistic looking appearance, the image needs more than one dimension.

Here you see my image, the adorable "Babysaurus" from DI'S DIGI DOWNLOADS.  I have added one layer of color - I have listed my colors to the side.

I love this image, but notice how it is so 1 dimensional and just looks flat.  So, my next step is to come in and add a darker color is certain areas, to give some dimension.  I am not really worrying about where my light is coming at this point, but you will notice, especially on the face, I will do one side darker than the other.

I haven't done much blending here because I want to show a little bit where the 2nd color is coming in.  I try and keep the colors relatively close in terms of color family, value and saturation, leaving the face as the area with the most dramatic contrast at the moment.  Colors added were E11, E57, YG63, Y38, BO4 and a bit of E21.

Finally, I'm going to come in and blend the unblended areas and then I'm going to add some darker colors, shadows, etc.  I realize I should have take more pictures for this last step, so I will try and give a bit more explaination here.  I blended the colors on the face and then added a bit of E13 and BV00

so you can see the roundness of the face.  I added YG67 to the outer edges of the dinosaur and then went back over with YG61 to create more contrast through the middle.  .  I also added a third color to the very bottom of the hair E59, some R21 for the cheeks and inside of ears.  I added a darker color at the bottom of the dinosaurs spots and then made them stand out more by using YG67 on the tops of each spot, again, adding dimension.

Don't be afraid to experiemnt with different color families or jumping up 10 or more numbers.  For example, I added YR04 to the outer edge and parts of ring on the pacifier.  I used B06 and B16 for some more dimension on the baby's onesie and then I did remove some color with my Copic blender pen.  Last, I added some color underneath so that the baby looks to be sitting somewhere and not suspended in mid air - I believe it's BV04 and BV02.  I also added some grey highlights using N2, again just to show more of the additional dimension of the image.  I hope I have provided some helpful hints today and that you have enjoyed my tutorial.  Hugs!!

Challenge #17 Chocolate Bunnies!

Anne-Marie

Grandma Bonnie

Jenee

Jennifer

Pauline

Trish

(For details of each creation, click on the DT names, to visit their blogs!)

We would love to see your CHOCOLATE BUNNY creations ... so come along and share with us! 


(If our challenge Linky has disappeared or isn't working,
please leave a comment on this post, with a link to your creation.... you will be counted!

Hi Everyone, does anyone like to crochet or knit? I have a new twist for it's usage with cards.  My Mom just taught me to crochet wash clothes this last month and I thought that it would be fun to incorporate the idea into a card.  My teamies thought it was a great idea so here it is.  I love these handmade cloths and have always gotten them from my Mom or at a garage sale ( they last forever....).  Now I'm delighted to be able to make my own!  I think they are fantastic gifts for those who are moving into a new place, children moving out on their own or encouraging kids to help wash the dishes. hehehe  So I thought a card to go with such a gift would be perfect.
I've created a picture tutorial on basic crocheting and showing the pattern that I love to use.  There are many out there and any would be wonderful!  I used the basic yarn for the tutorial so you could better see the stitching, but it's just a matter of what size yarn and what size hook you use(twine would work well to). Have fun with all the colours you can use.  For regular crocheting I use a 6mm hook and for the mini wash cloths on my card that you'll see below I used a 2.2mm hook. Have a look.....

Now to start with you pick your crochet hook, and prefered yarn/twine.  Then you create a loop and using the hook you pull the yarn through it.  Once tight, you loop the yarn through your fingers to create the tention. Then you start repeating this process of pulling the yarn through the loops, which is called chaining up until you reach the desired length.  Then as below using your hook you go through one of the previously made loops and pull through the yarn.  you end up with two loops so you pull another section of yarn through to create your stitching.  Once at the end of each line you chain up an extra time and then find the first stitch on the way back.  Now to create the ripple pattern that I love using is that you take the back loop not the front to create your stitch.  If you do this consistantly then it will ripple effect.

Once you're at the end of you're desired length, you chain up again and then do a row around the other three sides to create a uniform stitch all the way around. Now with going around the outside, you just pick and choose holes close to the edge of the cloth. Then cut your yarn, pull tight and using your hook loop it through the cloth to secure it. Then, you're done!

Here is what I've created with the mini wash cloths that I've made.  I'm by no means a pro and not all the edges are "straight" but I also thought it looked cute to be a bit "off".  I looked around for images that would go with wash cloths and found this one and the sentiment (Kitchen Clutter set) by Clear Dollar Stamps that I thought was perfect. You can find it HERE.  There are many out there so let your creativity go wild!

Hope you get some ideas from this and if you've never crocheted before, it's really quite simple and fun!