One Stitch at a Time Challenge 198

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we've got that easiest of all challenges: Anything Goes!

Our sponsor this week is

This week, I got to work with an image from Beary Dust chosen by my team mate Hazel. It's called Shih-Tzu.

I decided to do a completely digital project this time, especially as the image is so complete without further work. I designed the background in Photoshop Elements, and then went hunting for a suitable quote. I found this one, which I'm sure will resonate with many dog-lovers. I finished with a stylised flower which is from Dover Books.

I hope you can join us this time.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:

Artistic Impressions where the theme is 'anything goes/animals',
Party Time Tuesdays where anything goes,

4 Crafty Chicks where anything goes,

Challenges and Candies where they want monochromatic,

Catch the Bug where anything goes,

Oozak where they want white with one colour (grey).

Geometrics and Patterns

I love cards which are more abstract, but I don't make them very often. Then I spotted a challenge over at Paper Sundaes which is sponsored this week by Fred she Said which calls for 'White plus One' colour. That combination struck me as ideal to do with one of Fred's paper pricking patterns, and this is the result.

I've added one of the 'geometric' patterns that I picked up from the weekly sampler from Dover Books, printed it and coloured it with Promarkers, then raised it on sticky pads above the pricked layer. The patterned card is some I've been hoarding for a few years, but it seemed perfect for this, and I finished the card with some Spellbinders die cuts from my In Spades pendant set and some Promarker-coloured sticky gems.

I love the lacy effect of that paper pricking!

Crafty Cardmakers 14

The latest challenge from Crafty Cardmakers is called 'Digital Delights'. I use a lot of digital images - stamps and others, but I wanted to try something a little different. The image I chose is from the Dover sampler collection (free samples delivered to your inbox every week). It's an engraving and heavily shaded, so I used Promarkers to add colour to the four ladies only - skintones and clothes.

In some respects, using an image like this is easier than using a stamp because there's so much shading detail there already, but in other respects, you're not quite sure how things will turn out. I did design a backing paper for this one, but the colours didn't work as well as I'd hoped because of that factor. Still, a quick look in my box of papers and I found some Papermania and Paper Cellar sheets that worked well. I finished the card with some silver thread and those fans which are recent acquisitions.

It's quite a 'grown up' looking card compared with some I've done lately, and I'm quite pleased with the result.

Birthday Card

I was asked by someone at work for a card for her parents to give to their daughter-in-law, and this was the result. Apparently, the woman in question favours autumn colours - so I stuck to gold, moss green and coppery tones.

The image is from Dover Books Flower Designs and Motifs collection, and I changed the outline colour to a tan shade, and then coloured it with Promarkers.

I took an uncoloured image and also coloured it in Photoshop Elements and used this image to make the backing paper. The strip at the bottom is card coloured with Moonglow Ink in Burnished Brass and Copper and embossed in my Wizard using a Cuttlebug folder. The sentiments were designed in Photoshop Elements and, in the case of the round one, cut and mounted using my Nestibilities. (I do wish there was a better sized rectangle for sentiments - they're all too square, and none of the tags I've got was the right size.) The flowers were cut using my Blossom 2 dies, and they were also embossed using the flower screen embossing folder, and finished with some brads I've had forever but can rarely bring myself to use!

Abstract in Acetate

The cardmaking group I belong to has recently instigated a digital challenge. Each month there's a digital image freebie from somewhere which we're directed to, and then we can see just how different the results can be. This month gave some interesting results, and this was my attempt.



First, I coloured the image in Photoshop Elements using several opacity gradients in the various colours. I only coloured some sections of the image in each of three layers, and then I printed the base and coloured layers onto acetate. I layered the various images onto silver holographic card, separating the layers with a frame of card, then added a frame on the top, some peel offs and ribbon.

My original idea had been to have a completely uncoloured layer, but decided not to use it, so instead, I coloured that version with Sakura Glaze pens and a second card was the result!



As you can see, the colours are a lot stronger this time, and again I mounted it on silver holographic card.

The original image came from Dover Books. Each week, if you sign up for it, they'll send you some free samples from their various publications, and this is one of those. If you're interested, go to http://www.doverpublications.com/sampler1/ and sign up!

Blue Green Swap Card

The image is one of my Dover images - this is one of the flower set I bought a while ago. I printed it on my preferred Ryman matt coated paper then watercoloured it with marker pens - something I'm practising at the moment. The problem is that I like solid blocks of colour, so getting myself to consider shades is hard work - and that's before I start on my lack of skill.

The backing papers are both made by me using my trusty Photoshop Elements.

I was going to put up another one, but I've just searched for the photo and can't find it. Why do I take multiple photos of some cards but forget others?

My next challenge is to make a wedding card at the request of a colleague. The wedding's taking place in Barbados, and she's going to get me information on names, date, colours and/or photos, but the venue's really throwing me. I get the feeling I should reflect that, but it seems very unwedding-y to me. (But then, beaches and a hot climate really don't appeal to me at all.)

Peacock Card

I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to watercolour - but I loved this image of peacocks, and had to have a go. I used twinkling H2Os, and I was fairly pleased with the result. The background paper was made from a couple of elements of the original digital image and coloured to match the main image using Photoshop Elements. The original image is from Dover Books - I got it as one of their weekly sampler images.