Head To Head in July at Dragons Lair Designs

For this month's Head to Head we got to play with the Earth Tones Mini Kit. I have gone completely digital for this card. I have to say that I am not a great fan of this technique but it is useful when pressed for time!



Materials used: 
Dragons Lair Designs: Earth Tones Mini Kit
printer card

The whole card is printed out as one sheet but the illusion of depth and layers has been created by adding in shadows using Craft Artist.

• Dragons Lair Designs Store- A fantastic range of digital downloads


• Dragons Lair Designs Inspiration Blog- Bookmark us and come back regularly for inspiration


• Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog- Challenges starting the 1st Friday of every month with different themes, please come along and take part


• Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group- Even more inspiration, challenges, freebies and fun activities


• Dragons Lair Designs Facebook Page- Please do pop over and "Like" our page


• Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Store - Another location to get hold of our range of digital downloads


• Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint- Yet another location to get hold of our digital downloads


• Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group- selling buttons and bits and bobs

We'd love to have you join us in our Fan Group and post up some pictures of any creations you make using any DLD items.

Thanks for dropping in.

Pippa

Dragons Lair Designs July Group Digistamp Challenge

After the frenzied activity to get all 7 challenges done for the Bugaboo Christmas in July event it is a bit calmer in the Craftroom! We are off on holiday next Friday so there are a few loose ends to tie up before we head off, as well as work and painting the new house. Ok maybe it's not as calm as I would like after all.

The first on the list of 'Things to get done before going away' is the Dragons Lair progressive digi stamp challenge. The stamp is free on request from the Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group Facebook Page on the understanding that you make something and post it in the album before the end of the challenge.



Materials used:Dragons Lair Designs - Free Image (request from Facebook Page)
Dragons Lair Designs - Artistic Expressions Papers and Elements
printer card
X-Press It card
Copic pens
A5 card blank

I decided for this card to use just the one loaf of bread from the digistamp. I printed it on X-Press It card and coloured it with Copic pens before cutting it out.

The background has been made up in Serif CraftArtist 2 using papers and elements from the Artistic Expressions kits. I found the quote on the internet and thought it went well with the loaf of bread. The whole background is printed off as one sheet, hopefully the shadows will give the illusion of depth and dimension.

The loaf of bread has been shaped and stuck into the frame with gel glue.

Making up the background has given me some more practice with the CraftArtist programme. I think I am slowly getting the hang of it just by fiddling about although I feel there is a lot more to discover.

Thanks for dropping in. Take care.

Pippa

If my card has inspired you please head over to the Dragons Lair Designs Sites, here are some links that may be useful:

• Dragons Lair Designs Store- A fantastic range of digital downloads


• Dragons Lair Designs Inspiration Blog- Bookmark us and come back regularly for inspiration


• Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog- Challenges starting the 1st Friday of every month with different themes, please come along and take part


• Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group- Even more inspiration, challenges, freebies and fun activities


• Dragons Lair Designs Facebook Page- Please do pop over and "Like" our page


• Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Store - Another location to get hold of our range of digital downloads


• Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint- Yet another location to get hold of our digital downloads

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:
Dragons Lair Designs Group Digistamp Challenge - July
Word Art Wednesday #238 and #239 - Anything Goes

Bugaboo Christmas in July Day 7

It's the final day for the Bugaboo Christmas in July challenges and being a Friday it is tied in with the Friday Freebie coupled with a colour challenge



However I have gone with last week's freebie.



Materials used:Bugaboo Stamps - AKV Santa Tree
Docrafts Christmas Greeting Stamp
X-Press It card
red, purple and pink mirri card
DL card blank
scalloped rectangle dies
sparkly gel pens
Copic pens

The image has been coloured with Copic pens and gel pens to add some sparkle. Both the image and the greeting have been cut with dies.

The mirri card has been used to cover the card front and to add some interesting mats. I hhave tried to stick to the colours in the challenge as much as I can.
Well I have managed all 7 challenges and mostly on the correct day! I do enjoy the Bugaboo Christmas in July events but it is always such a busy time at school with the end of the academic year that I usually only manage a couple of entries. This year I am not working as many hours and with no teaching have no preparation to do therefore more time. But now house decorating and holiday calls so it will probably be a bit quiet in the craftroom for a while.

Thank you for dropping by. Take care.

Pippa

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:
Catch the Bug Christmas in July Day 7 - Friday Freebie and Colour Challenge
If You Give a Crafter A Cookie #48

News, News Read All About It!

I am so pleased to tell you that I have been asked to be on the design team for a brand new challenge. I have been entering cards in the  'Love To Scrap Challenges' for a while and they are launching a sister challenge 'Love to Craft' on August 1st.



This is my kind of challenge, low key and laid-back,  playing just for fun. The idea is that it is a place to share and to find inspiration. Any and all handmade creations are welcome to be entered, there is plenty of choice, be it cards, tags, ATCs and scrapbook layouts  - to 3-D projects, mixed media canvases and altered projects - and even knitting, crocheting, quilting and jewelry-making!

The challenges will go live at 6:00 AM EST on the 1st day of every month and run until 6:00 PM EST on the last day of the month. Winners and Top Picks will be chosen by the design team and announced on the 15th of the month following the close of each challenge.

You may enter our challenges up to five times (as long as each project is different) and you may combine our challenges with as many other challenges as you'd like! The more the merrier!  Please no back linking.

Be sure to follow us so you don't miss out on anything! And we'd love it if you'd help spread the crafty love by sharing our badge on your blog!

So be ready for the first challenge starting on August 1st. We hope to see you there!

Thanks for dropping in. Take care

Pippa

Bugaboo Christmas In July Day 6

I think my wacky sense of humour got over stimulated with Day 5's entry and it has spilled over into today! The challenge is a photo inspiration, quite a quirky one for a Christmas challenge!





Materials used:
Bugaboo Stamps - Tropical Santa - Buried
Pink Gem Designs - Beach Fence
Décosse's Dynamite Doodles - A Taste of Summer papers (available until 15th through the blog hop here)
X-Press It card
blue card
white A5 card blank
printer card
Copic pens

I arranged the images and the verse with a fancy frame to make up one picture and printed it on X-Press It card then coloured it with Copics.

The yellow mat is printed from the Taste of Summer papers pack. The card front is covered with blue card then the matted image stuck on top.

There is a story behind the verse, my friend Melanie came up with it years ago and although I cannot now remember what we were doing at the time the verse has stuck in my head ever since. I thought it was apt for today's challenge theme.  For those of you visiting from other shores, Ingoldmells is a holiday village near Skegness, Lincolnshire. I have never actually been there so cannot comment on what it is like.

      

Thanks for dropping in. Take care.

Pippa

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:
Catch the Bug Christmas is July Day 6 - Photo Inspiration
Addicted to Stamps and More #202 - Make Your Mark
A Bit More Time To Craft #23 - Anything Goes
Ike'sworld Challenges #67 - Christmas in July
Crafty Girls Creations #23 - Just For Fun
Wednesday's Creative Inspirations Challenge Blog #255 - Seaside, Sunshine, Summer Holidays 

Bugaboo Christmas in July Day 5

Time to get funny for today's challenge.





Materials used: 
Bugaboo Stamps - Glass of Wine a Day 
Bugaboo Stamps - Frosty Digi Papers
Bearly Mine - Selection of Christmas Digi Papers (no longer trading)
X-Press It card
printer card
Copics
Scalloped edged rectangle and oval dies
Christmas tree shape clip art
stick on gems

The lady and glass are printed onto X-Press It card and coloured with Copics then cut out.

I used a simple layered tree clipart image printed onto four papers from the Bugaboo Frosty set to make up the tree. The middle and top sections are cut out and attached to the layer underneath with gel glue to give a 3d effect.T

The matts are cut with the dies from different papers from Bearly Mine. I chose colours that went with the lady's clothes and the green of the tree.

The sentiment is typed on the computer and printed out.

Once all the layers had been stuck down I used some small self-adhesive gems to decorate the tree.

A quick check that I have included all the required elements and the job is finished.

Thank you for taking the time to visit. Take care.

Pippa

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:
Catch The Bug Christmas in July  Day 5 - Humour and a Recipe
Artistic Inspirations #160 - Anything Goes
Lemon Shortbread #19 - Anything Goes 
Your Scrapbook Place -July
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #37 - Anything Goes
A Bit More Time To Craft #23 - Anything Goes
Love to Scrap #81 - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (top of the Christmas tree)

Colouring with Ching-Chou Kuik

I have been having a bit of relaxing, therapeutic fun with an image from Ching-Chou Kuik.



Materials used:
Ching-Chou Kuik - (Image was a weekend freebie offer and is no longer available. I could not find it in her etsy store either)
X-Press It card
Copic pens
black and silver card
silver pen
white paint pen
Wink of Stella - Shimmer Clear
A5 card blank

I printed out the image on X-Press it and coloured it in. The sky background is one I learned in the very first monthly lesson from Kit and Clowder and I highly recommend Alyce and her fantastic courses to you. They are worth every penny/dime/cent and her one to one feedback is so encouraging and helpful. I am still very much in the early stages being a slow burner but have already learned so much and improved my colouring skills.

The moon and her jewelry are coloured with a silver glitter pen and Wink of Stella has been applied to her wings. The stars are made with a white paint pen , the first lot coloured over with the Copics and then another fresh layer put on which makes some of them look fainter and further away.

The coloured image has been matted and layered on black, dull silver and mirri silver card. The front flap of the card blank is trimmed back to half way and the mounted image attached so that it hangs over the edge. The computer printed sentiment has been matted onto black card and then stuck to the inside flap of the card.

I am really pleased with the way this one went especially as I do not have many yellow pens and blending them has always been tricky. I tried a different colour combination for her hair and think I got away with it! She looks very pensive sitting on the moon, I wonder what she is thinking!

Thank you for visiting. Take care.

Pippa

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create #184 - Anything Goes
Lacy Sunshine's Colour 'n' Craft Challenge # June 10 - Anything Goes
Crafting From The Heart #120 - Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion #320 - Anything Goes 
Artistic Inspirations #160 - Anything Goes
Not Just Cards #34 July - Anything Goes/Colour Challenge (blue in the sky, a hint of pink on her wings, yellow dress)
Ooh-La-La Creations #208 - Something Beginning With F (had to be fairy!)
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge #286 - Anything Goes

Bugaboo Christmas in July Day 4

Today is Bingo day!



For my card I have gone with the middle line across: Sparkley (glitter and silver pen on the ornament), Bugaboo Image (but of course!), Lime Green (ornament colour).



Materials used:Bugaboo Stamps - Christmas SB Ornament
X-Press It card
green and purple card
striped DP
acrylic greeting stamp
black archival ink pad
black glitter
silver pen
Copics
square card blank folded to make an easel card

The image is coloured with Copics, silver pen and black glitter then trimmed and matted and layered. The greeting is stamped in black then matted and layered to match the main image.

The front and inside of the card blank are lined with the stripey paper then the image and greeting added.
Well, so far so good and I actually posted the last two before the next challenge has been announced! It looks as if I may manage to do them all this year after all.

Thanks for dropping by. Take care.

Pippa

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:
Bugaboo Christmas in July Day 4 - Bingo 
Crafting With Friends #24 - Anything Goes
Creative Fingers Challenge #113
Jo's Scrap Shack FFC #146 - Anything Goes
Simply Papercraft #32 - Anything Goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #289 - Colour: Purple
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #37 - Anything Goes

Bugaboo Christmas in July Day 3

Today's theme is to make a tag.



Being a literal type of person I decided to do just that, make a giant almost A5 tag. However I had one of those brilliant ideas that work in your head but not necessarily in practice so the tag I ended up with was not the one I had planned:



Materials used:Bugaboo Stamps - Tag - Santa's Reindeer
printer card
watercolour card
Brushos - black, turquoise, red, yellow, purple, blue
self adhesive white gems
scrap of white wool
silver eye-let
Distress Inks - Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Black
brown and black Copic pens
silver pen

The tag is printed onto card and the sky coloured with distress inks. I added some silver dots for stars which do not show up that well so put in some gems for a bit more interest.

The centre of the tag is cut out then matted and attached with foam pads to a mat made up of two pieces of card coloured with Brushos.

A silver eye-let is set at the top of the tag and the white wool threaded through. 

I am not entirely happy with this one but am trying to get all the challenges done on time so have gone with it. You may be wondering what my original idea was ... well when I saw this tag I thought of all those wonderful images from the Hubble telescope and how it would look to have Santa driving through one.



My plan was to create a background paper resembling the picture using Brushos an then printing the tag over the top. However I discovered that my printer does not like watercolour card that much, especially watercolour card that has been 'Brushoed' and that the image is actually quite faint. A pity really because I thought my created paper could just about have passed as a picture from space!


The 'failed' print out. I have managed to get a bit of a swirl of colour in the middle!

Thanks for visiting. Hopefully I shall be back again with Day 4 tomorrow. Take care.

Pippa

I would like to enter my tag into the following challenges:Bugaboo Christmas in July Day 3 - Tag you're It!

Christmas in July with Bugaboo day 2

Today's theme is to use a sketch.



Here is my take on it.



Materials used:Bugaboo Stamps - Christmas Ornaments
A4 snowflake embossing folder
X-cut border die
X-cut scallop edged circle
circle dies
white snowflake ribbon
silver ribbon
silver mirri card
Christmas designer paper
wooden greeting stamp
black archival ink
15cm square card blank
X-Press It card
Copic pens
gel pens
white paint pen

The ornament stamp is printed onto X-Press It card and coloured with the Copics and gel pens. Part of the image has been cut with a circle die then matted onto silver mirri card also cut with a circle die. This is then layered onto a piece of designer paper cut with a scallop edged circle die.

The card blank has been embossed in the folder then a piece of designer paper cut with the border die and mounted onto silver miri card has been added at the top and a thin strip of silver mirri card added to the bottom. A shor length of silver ribbon has been caught in behind the top border and attached to the back of the matted image.

A length of white snowflake ribbon is added in the middle of the border die cut and a small silver ribbon bow added to the top of the matted image. The image is left to dangle freely on the ribbon.

Finally the greeting is stamped at the bottom of the card with black ink.

Thankd for dropping in. Take care.

Pippa

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:
Catch the Bug Christmas in July Day 2 - Sketch Challenge!

Christmas in July with Bugaboo Day 1

It's that time of year again when Bugaboo Stamps hold a week of daily challenges on the theme of Christmas.







Materials used:Bugaboo - Two Snowmen
Spellbinders Heirloom Ornament Clear Stamp Set
blue Cor'dinations card
black card
15cm square card blank
Design Objectives A4 snowflake embossing folder
snowflake die cut (from snippets box)
X-Press It card
Copic pens
Wink of Stella Clear Shimmer pen
silver sparkle gel pen
black archival ink pad

The Cor'dinations card has been embossed with the snowflakes folder and then gentle sanded to reveal the flakes.

The snowmen are printed onto X-Press It card and coloured with Copics.

Thanks for dropping in. Take care.

Pippa

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:
Bugaboo Christmas in July day 1 (Saturday) - Snowman or Snowflake Theme
Lemon Shortbread #19 - Anything Goes
Ike'sworld Challenge #67 - Christmas in July
Inspiration Destination #93 - Anything Goes
Love To Scrap Challenge #81 - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (there is a star ontop of the Christmas tree)
Crafting With An Attitude #17 - Anything Goes

A Taste of Summer Blog Hop EXTENDED!

Hello!  I'm popping in to let you know that the deadline to win the prizes offered up in the A Taste of Summer Blog Hop has been extended.  You now have until July 15th, at 11:55 p.m. EDT, to get your comments added and your name linked up if you want a chance to win the full kit and the 1 year subscription to the Through the Craft Room Door on-line crafting magazine.

Don't know what I'm talking about?  Click HERE to find the original post and read all about it.

Good luck to you all!

Pippa

Swapping challenges

I missed out on getting my entry done on time for the Art By Mi Ran progressive challenge on Facebook so have entered it into the monthly challenge which this month is Anything Goes.



Materials Used:Art By Mi Ran - Sunshine Suzie (#297)
DDDoodles - A Taste of Summer Kit (on offer as a prize for the Blog Hop)
Spellbinders grand labels #23 dies
circle die
white printer card
A5 card blank
X-Press It card
acrylic greeting stamp
archival black ink
Copic pens

Suzie is coloured in with Copics and this time I have stuck to my favourite combination of reds. She has then been fussy cut and stuck to the background using gel glue.

I have used papers and elements from the Taste of Summer Kit to make up the background. I was attempting to suggest that she is standing on the beach. The wavy blue line on the yellow is supposed to be waves on the sand!

We have been having some very strange weather lately here in the UK. It is July and some days have felt more like October or November but then there have been some lovely days with sunshine and no rain. We are really hoping for a good August for our holiday and our daughters wedding.

Thanks for dropping by. Take care.

Pippa

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:Art by Mi Ran Facebook Group - June Anything Goes
A Bit More Time To Craft  #23 - Anything Goes
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #37 - Anything Goes
Lacy Sunshine's Colour and Craft Your World - Anything Goes
Crafts Galore Encore July - Anything Goes
Not Just Cards #33 - Anything Goes
Your Scrapbook Place - July
613 Avenue Create #183 - Anything Goes (there is a very small rose on her dress!)
Crafting From The Heart #119 - Anything Goes
Artistic Inspirations #160 - Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion #319 - Anything Goes

Blog hop time with freebies!

 

 Lisa D. from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles is this month's Featured Artist in the Through The Craftroom Door Magazine.

She created a brand new digital kit to mark the occasion and asked several of her crafting buddies to help out by creating samples for the July/August edition!

We've all come together to celebrate this event by bringing you a blog hop featuring projects made with items from Lisa's brand new digital kit called...

  A TASTE OF SUMMER

 

If you are arriving here from Marji's blog, you are right on track!

If you are just starting, you can find a full list of all the hop stops at the bottom of this post.

 To kick off the event, Lisa is providing a free summer themed word art creation that you can find on her blog. Comment at EACH stop along the hop for your chance to win the full digital kit as shown in the preview above. One lucky person will also have the chance to win a 1 year subscription to the TTCRD Magazine! Please be sure to head to Lisa's blog to read the full details on how to qualify for both of these prizes!

For a chance at winning the Sticker Elements section of this kit...

 

Simply leave a comment on this post and be a follower of my blog!

You have until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Friday, July 8th, to submit your comments for a chance to win one of the above mentioned prizes. For my stop along the hop, I am excited to share the project I created for the magazine.

Check it out:

Materials used:
DDDoodles - A Taste of Summer Kit (on offer as a prize for this Blog Hop)
12 x 12 printer card
photographs

The whole page has been put together on Serif CraftArtist. If you visit my blog regularly you will know that I have been experimenting more with digital scrapbooking.

I have used a patterened paper and a glitter paper along with a selection of elements from the kit. I am still trying to work out how to add shadows to create dimension on my page but have managed a hint of shadow under the waves section at the bottom of the photgraph.

Our youngest daughter has always been a bit of a water baby so while attending a friends wedding in Brazil earlier in the year she could not let the opportunity go by and ended up in the sea. It's great to see her beaming smile in use again after a difficult time recently.

Next stop on the blog hop route is Helen's blog.  Click HERE to head there now!

If you miss any of the stops along the way, here is the complete list. You are definitely going to want to check out what my fellow hoppers have in store for you:

LISA

SUSAN 

MARJI

PIPPA
HELEN   

DONNA

KATRINA

SUZE 

JULIE

PAT

Have fun and good luck.

Pippa

Coming Soon

Not a card to share with you this morning but just to say that there is a blog hop coming with prizes on offer so you may want to check back tomorrow!

See you later.

Pippa

New monthly challenge at Dragons Lair Designs

Today sees the start of the new challenge at Dragons Lair Designs and this month the theme is: It's a zoo out there! So let's see what animals you can come up with.



Materials used:Dragons Lair Designs - Sitting Cat Digi StampDragons Lair Designs - Animal Magic (Cat) Mini Kit 
Clarity Stamp - Poppies and Field Mice Set
acrylic greetings stamp
printer card
X-Press It card
Copic pens
UTEE and Versamark pad
white A5 card blank

The card blank has been cut and scored to make a double easel card.

The backing papers are printed from the mini kit onto printer card. The frame is also from the mini kit and has been printed at the required size with the sitting cat inside it on X-Press It card.  A second copy of the sitting cat along with a couple of smaller versions have been printed out, fussy cut and then embossed with Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel.

The edge of the frame was masked off with post-it notes and the poppies stamped in then another poppy image stamped on the remaining card. Both poppy images have been coloured with Copics.  The second poppies image has been trimmed to size to fit the smaller panel and the greeting stamped on the bottom with black ink.

The large embossed cat image has been attached over the base image with foam pads adn the two smaller cats have been stuck to the inside to form the panel stoppers.

I hope you will come along and have a go at our challenge yourself. There are prizes to be won! If you need inspiration here are some useful links:

Dragons Lair Designs Links

• If you fancy trying out some of Dragons Lair Designs, please do visit the Store to find all sorts of digital goodies for crafting, and the minimum spend is only £2 (you’ll find great digi-stamps and lots more).


• And why not join the “Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group” on Facebook. It’s a small, fun, group where we have lots of different activities which include exclusive challenges, daily inspiration and giveaways – and there’s a loyalty club for those who take part as well where taking part gets you points, winning gets you more points, and get enough points and you get a voucher to spend in the shop.


• We have a page on Facebook. If you like the creations I’ve made using Dragons Lair Designs digital downloads then we’d love it if you popped over and “Like” us.


• See us on CraftsUPrint


• Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog : new challenge the first Friday of every month


• Dragons Lair Designs Inspiration Blog : a showcase blog for lots of different crafting made using Dragon Lair Designs


• Then of course there’s the Dragon Boss Lady’s own blog – Straight From The Craftroom

Thanks for dropping in. Take care.