First up, my good friend and fab-designer, Jodiann Cates is having a TCT (Test/Creative Team) call on her blog – she’s looking for a few talented people to work with her Photoshop styles.  I love them and have had the pleasure of working with several of them.  In fact, I used her Mini Stripe Lite style to create one of my freebies – you can find it here. Check her blog for all of the details and then apply!

Let’s see, what’s next – oh I know, another friend and uber-talented designer, Kristine of Designs by Kristine has just launched her own Newsletter – complete with sales info, coupons, and even exclusive freebies.  You definitely DON’T want to miss out.  You can find all of the deets here or sign up here.

For my crafting friends, as most of you know, I blog-stalk Suzanne Dean – her coloring skills are nothing short of amazing!  When I first heard about Copic markers, I headed to her blog for tutorials and color suggestions since buying all 300+ colors at once just wasn’t and still isn’t going to happen!  Well, now she’s launching Color Me Creative, an online classroom where she’ll teach all things Copic – everything from the basic to advanced mixed-media techniques.  Classes start March 15, but since they are all self-paced, you’ll have an entire year to complete them, plus have PDF and video files that can be downloaded and saved for future reference.  There’s an early-bird discount before March 14 – so be sure to check it out if you’re like me – new to Copics (plus I won’t be attending any of the Copic Certification classes as they are never near here nor are they in my price range) and in love the with the potential these (and all alcohol markers) have!  I can’t wait to get started.  Suzanne is also offering a refer-a-friend discount aka Copic Bucks, so you can earn a little something for spreading the word.

Looking for a challenge to get your creativity off the ground?  Since March as arrived, that means there are new challenges up at the DSO challenge blog – stop by and play awhile!

I guess that’s all from me – oh wait – you wanted a peak at our activities from last month?  Alright – just a peak:

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Nadya enjoying a visit to the park while while in Oklahoma.

Have a great Tuesday!

I launched PSE 6 and opened my two digital-stamps along with a new 6×6 file at 300 PPI.I centered the sentiment on my blank canvas and then added the flower.  I wanted the flower to fit inside the sentiment, so I adjusted its size by to 60% and kept the ratios locked so it wouldn’t be distorted. Now the fun (aka coloring) begins!  I created a new layer ABOVE my sentiment layer by clicking the new layer button (upper left corner of the layers palette) or you can go to Layer—> New—> Layer or Ctrl+Shift+N. Then I select my Gradient Tool (located just under the Paint Bucket on your toolbar) and pattern (this is from the default menu):Next draw a line across your canvas – I used a diagonal from upper left to lower right.  You can redraw them over and over until you get the look you want.Now take your mouse and Alt+Click on the narrow line between the Gradient Fill and your Sentiment layer to create the mask (filled the bottom layer with white so you could see the effect more clearly and to simulate being printed on white paper/cardstock): If you want your flower outline to match your text, you c an duplicate the Gradient layer by Right Clicking on it in the Layers Palette and selecting duplicate; then drag the duplicated layer ABOVE the Flower layer and Alt+Click to create the mask: You could print from here – color as you’d like or merely trim, embellish, and attach to your card. However, I thought I’d take it a step further and add some more color and texture to mine.  I created 4 new layers BELOW my flower stamp and above my Sentiment by selecting the Gradient Layer ABOVE the sentiment and clicking my Add New Layer button 4 times.  Then I double-clicked on the text of each layer and renamed it so I would know what I was working on. In this case my layers are titled, from top to bottom, Flower Outline Gradient, Flower Outline, Center Button, Top Petal, Bottom Petal, Leaves, Sentiment Gradient, Sentiment, and Background.Next, I selected my magic wand tool (7th button from the top on the toolbar). Then in my Layers Palette, I selected my Flower Outline Layer. I clicked inside the button to get “marching ants” or dotted lines around the button.Next I expanded my selection by 1 pixel – to do this go to your Select Menu –> Modify –> Expand          Enter 1 in the pop-up and click OK.Now, on your Layers Palette, select your Button Layer and fill it with color (it doesn’t matter what color you choose as we’ll be adding gradients above it anyway). Instead of the Paint Bucket tool, I used the Edit –> Fill Layer from the drop down menu. I selected Color… from the Contents drop-down and picked a light pink so I could see where my fill was.    Then I removed the marching ants by using Select –> Deselect (or Ctrl+D).I repeated the above steps for the top petal, bottom petal, and leaves to get this: Then I created a new layer above each of my Flower layers so I could add Gradient Fills to them as well. I played with my Gradients (the fill process is the same as above) until I was satisfied and ended up with this: You could save and print from here, but I wanted to add a bit of texture too. So, I simplified my Flower Layers (I selected my Gradient Layer and Ctrl+Clicked the corresponding Flower layer so that both layers were highlighted in my Layers Palette and then right Clicked and selected Merge Layers). My Gradients are no longer editable, but I can easily add texture now. To add Texture, I selected the Texture options from the Effects Palette (located above the Layers Palette)

You can use the defaults, or add your own.  I used a Texture from KimB  Designs (available as part of the DSV grab bag this month). Here’s my almost end-result:

Next I added a Scallop shape – I added a new layer BELOW my sentiment and then used my Custom Shape Tool (just below the Gradient button on the toolbar) to draw the Scallop (I also had my Shift button pressed while I was drawing so that my Scallop would be proportional. After I was satisfied with my Shape, I right clicked on the Scallop Layer in the Layers Palette and Simplified my shape. Again, you can print from here or add a bit of shadow to your flower layers to give them a more “pieced” look. To add the shadow, select the layer you want to work with, I selected my button fill first and worked down. Then in your Effects Palette, select Layer Styles (the button that looks like 2 frames), and then select Drop Shadows from the Drop-Down menu. Play with them until you find one you like (Ctrl+Z) will undo anything. My final stamped and colored image is now ready to printed and added to my card.

I hope you found this little tutorial helpful.  If you have questions, leave me a comment and I’ll see what I can do to help. Happy stamping! And, just for playing along, I have to gradient background papers for you (just click the image to download) – they are Fall colors and coordinate well with Lindsay’s Sketchy Leaves digital stamp set or any of her fabulous $1 Leaves and Acorns individual stamps.

Oh, and don’t forget, Lindsay’s DT call is open until November 7th, you can get the details here.  Also, be sure you stop by Lindsay’s blog as she has some fabulous eye-candy up this week and there might be a freebie in it for you as well.  You can visit the rest of the DT from there – the team is so talented and I know they have some amazing projects to showcase this week.

I’d also like to remind everyone of the Spread the Love Blog Hop and my Blog Candy – it’s all up until November 9 and such a great cause to support – why not use some of Lindsay’s digital stamps (where every $5 purchase earns you a FREE $1 stamp) to create a card for Jaimie – then come back here, leave a link, and be entered to win some candy?!?!

As if this fabulous set wasn’t enough, she surprised us with her new All Around Phrases stamp set (I used a couple of the stamps in this set for the Photoshop Elements tutorial yesterday).  So, what did I do this week? Well, started out warping a couple of the Cupcake Wrappers into card fronts, but just wasn’t feeling quite Christmas-y yet, so I opted to create a couple of Halloween themed cards using Lindsay’s Creepy Crow set.  For my projects, I had planned on doing a card set and matching box, but time and my toddler had other plans for me.  The two cards I have for you today double as challenge entries for the Papertake Weekly and Inspirational Card Sketches challenges.

For my Papertake Weekly Challenge card, I printed the Crow Graveyard Scene on Multipurpose photo paper, sprinkled it with Desert Night Embossing Powder by Stamp A Mania (which is produced locally – I LOVE IT) and heat embossed (you have to be really careful when embossing photo paper or vellums as it is very easy to melt the coating or burn the paper – I typically apply the heat to the back of my paper when using these media types – it takes forever, but I don’t usually catch things on fire!).  Then I trimmed the image with my scissors and craft knife.  The card base is textured black CS from Bazzill.  The primary mat is also from Bazzill – a deep purple that seemed to fit so well with the Halloween theme.  The moon is die cut from glitter CS (DCWV glitter  mat stack).  I cut the circle (4.25”) with one of my old wooden Accucut Slimline dies (I’m so bummed they don’t sell them any more) and then cut it in half to create the moon.  The “hillside” is cut from dark grey mulberry paper that I had hiding in my stash.  I printed the sentiment on HP 4×6 photopaper thinking I would emboss it too – NOPE – that stuff came out of the printer dry! Fabulous for printing photos, not so much if you want to emboss! Since I couldn’t emboss easily, I opted for a bit of clear glue and Black Hole ultra fine glitter from The Art Institute around the edges.  The “ribbon” is scrap from cutting out the moon. 

My 2nd card is for this week’s Inspirational Card Sketches challenge.  I used the Crow ATC from Lindsay’s set printed on Multipurpose photopaper and embossed with my fabulous Desert Night powder.  I colored the moon and sky with my Copics – aiming for a stained glass type effect.  I matted the ATC on a scrap of purple textured Bazzill CS and then colored the edges with a Gelly Roll glitter pen.  The card base is the other half of my 12×12 Bazzill black CS.  I had some of the spider web DP leftover from one of my other cards, so I used it as my primary card mat.  I cut the curve from a piece of Black Mulberry paper and then edged the paper with clear glue and this fabulous Orange Twinkle embossing powder (Judikins) that I picked up at Creative Stamp Impressions (my local stamp store). I cut the flowers from black and grey mulberry papers using my Sizzix Daisies #2die. I added the orange button as the center and  covered it with the same embossing powder for added sparkle.

Now that you’re in the Halloween “spirit” – make sure to check Lindsay’s blog – you never know when she’ll have a surprise for you and I know she posted this awesome Halloween freebie during the week!

Stop by the other DT blogs and see what sort of inspiration they have for you!  And, while we’re talking about DT members, Lindsay’s DT call is open until November 7 – don’t miss your chance to apply!

Have a fabulous Thursday! 

To get started I’ve opened a PNG file in PSE 6.0 – this is the Double Dot Border from Lindsay’s new All Around Phrases Digital Stamp Set.

We’re going to add an adjustment layer to change the color of the dots:

  On your layers palette, select the two-tone circle to Create Adjustment Layer. The select Hue/Saturation from the Drop Down Menu. A new screen will pop-up that looks like this – check the box next to Colorize: I played with the sliders until I found a color I liked – my numbers look like this (yours will vary depending on the color you want.):

This is what my colorized frame looks like now:

I wanted to include a sentiment inside the frame, so I opened the It’s Your Day png file, also from Lindsay’s new All Around Phrases Digital Stamp Set, and drug it onto my existing frame.  I resized it using the the little boxes in the corners (by dragging on the corners, I was able to scale the image and keep the proportions the same). I wanted to color the sentiment too, so I linked the existing Hue/Saturation layer to the Double Dot border by selecting the Hue/Saturation Layer. positioning my cursor on the little line between the Hue/Saturation Layer and the Frame, and ALT+Clicking on it.  This creates a link/mask so that this Hue/Saturation is only applied to the layer below it (in this case, the Double Dot border). You can tell the layer is linked by the little curved arrow that appears on the Layers Palette.

I created a new Hue/Saturation Layer above the Sentiment, using the same method as above – playing with the sliders until I found a color I liked.  Note, pay attention to the Sentiment color only as we’ll link the layers again so that the Double Dot border color isn’t changed.  This is what my stamps look like before I link the layers.

Following the same process (Alt+Click), I linked the 2nd Hue/Saturation layer to my Sentiment layer and viola – a two-color stamp.

Now that I’m done “coloring”, I want to merge my layers.  To do this, right click on one of your layers and select Merge Visible – this will combine all of the visible layers while leaving your background transparent. Then, because I want to use one of my circle punches to cut out my sentiment, I am going to resize the entire image.  To do this, go the top of your screen to the Image tab – select Resize then Image Size.

A new pop-up menu will appear.  Since I know my punch is 1.75 inches, I adjusted my sizes accordingly. By checking the Resample Image box, I am able to adjust the the Height and Width without increasing or decreasing the Resolution. I didn’t check the Scale Styles box because I didn’t use any layer styles.

Here’s my final product – ready to print, cut and add to a card!

I hope this little tutorial was helpful for you – if you have any questions, leave me a comment and I’ll try to answer them for you.

A little birdie also told me that Lindsay is having a DT call – so if you LOVE her stamps and want to be part of a fun and supportive creative team – check out this post for all of the details! Hurry though – the deadline is November 7th!

Have a great day!

Her DT created some fabulous inspiration, so I decided to join in too. The color combination was inspired and selected by my little one – who at 2 is already developing her sense of fashion and color!  I tried to match her hair to the fairy’s, but didn’t quite make it!

I printed the cute little fairy on Georgia Pacific White CS and colored her with Copics.  Victoria designed this digital stamp freebie for Erin – who has been organizing a card drive for Paige – the young girl whose arm was amputated due to injury from a boating accident. To add a bit of dimension, I added Memory Box Daffodil pearls for her bracelet and Gelly Roll Clear Glaze for her eyes.  The flowers and her wings are accented with Spica markers and her shoes are dotted with a Zebra silver pen. To create clouds, I dabbed light blue shimmer chalk over the background.  She’s layered onto a Bazzill Basics textured mat (I trimmed both with my small corner rounder).  Here’s a close-up of my fairy girl:

I used my Nestabilities to cut the scallop circle and rectangle from DCWV mat stacks.  The white DP is an inverted scrap from cutting the Fiskars DP to size – for added texture I embossed it with my Cuttlebug Birds n Swirls folder. All of that was layered onto Fiskars DP.  I created the flowers using a sheet of American Crafts Vellum from my stash (it had 2 colors per sheet) and the Birds and Blossoms die set from SU/Sizzix.  I used silver brads to hold the layers together and then spritzed the flowers with Vanilla Breeze Glimmer Mist. After they dried, I attached them to the card and then used a bit of glue and  Sugar Coating Bumblebee Glitter over the brads to create the flower centers.  As a final touch, I added pale yellow bauble drops from my friend Suzanne’s store. The card base is Regal Rose.  This is a large card – 8.5×5.5 – but I think it will be perfect as a birthday card for my Nana – she’ll be celebrating her 79th birthday next month – and since she’ll be visiting my Mom, we’ll get to celebrate with her!

Ingredients: 
Pattern Paper: American Crafts Visions Vellum (from stash), Fiskars Shimmer Glow Orchid, DCWV Spring Mat Glitter Stack
Cardstock: SU Regal Rose, Georgia Pacific White, Bazzill Textured Purple, DCWV Nana’s Nursery
Stamps: Victoria Case Erin Fairy
Markers: Copic Markers (C01, E02, YR00,Y21, YR24, V09, V15, V17, E00, G07, G09, YR04, RV11, RV14, V12,YG03, R02) and Spica Glitter Pens (Pink, Purple, Yellow, Clear), Zebra Silver pen, Gelly Roll Glaze Gloss Pen
Other: Nestabilities Long Rectangles and Classic Scallop Circles Large,  Memory Box Daffodil Pearls, Light Yellow Bauble Drops, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Vanilla Breeze, Small Corner Rounder Punch, SU Birds and Blossoms Die, Cuttlebug Birds & Swirls, and Pebbles Shimmer Chalks

While we’re on the topic of challenges, have you seen what’s going on at DSO?Complete Kim’s Colour Challenge and earn this stunning beauty: Charlie is offering a template to get you started on her Desktop Challenge and a lovely mini for completing it: Loucee’s Animal Kingdom challenge is a little on the wild side: Need some inspiration? Di’s Scraplift challenge is sure to do the trick!

Misty is encouraging our inner Globe Trotter with her Ad challenge – and offering this for completing it: And Andrea is offering coordinating minis for completing her Quote and Font Challenges:

I guess that’s all from me! Have a fabulous Tuesday evening and Wednesday!

Here’s a little peak at my creative ventures this week:

The image is Pansy corner from Serendipity stamps that I stamped onto Whisper White CS (SU) with Memento Tuxedo  Black ink.  Instead of markers, I used my Prismacolor pencils (note to self – need the 12 new colors too) to color the flowers and then stippled Vintage Violet (SU) onto the CS and used a fantastix bullet tip to add the ink to the edges.  Then I trimmed with my large rectangle and scallop nestabilities and mounted onto Elegant Eggplant (SU) CS. I used a piece of shimmer patterned vellum from my stash and drew the border on it with a dark. purple sharpie marker.  The lace is from my stash, but I’m pretty sure it’s from JoAnn’s.  I then layered and adhered everything onto a 5×7 card made from Whisper White CS. I stamped the sentiment (SU) in Vintage Violet.

For the inside of the card, I layered the remaining piece of vellum onto an an Elegant Eggplant  mat.  I printed the verse (found on the internet) onto shimmer CS and then trimmed with my Top Note die (SU).  I made a coordinating envelope – white on the outside with a purple liner.

For this card, my husband asked that I keep it simple, so I stamped the tree (Lovely as a Tree, SU) in Always Artichoke onto Naturals Ivory CS (SU).  I trimmed the image with my long rectangle nestabilities. I inked the edges with Always Artichoke and another fantastix applicator and mounted onto Old Olive CS (SU) that I scalloped.  I used my SU 1/4” circle punch and tied a piece of ivory grosgrain craft ribbon (Hobby Lobby) through the hole.  I ran my Naturals Ivory card base through my Big Shot with my SU Flourish texture plate and stippled Always Artichoke lightly across it.  I added a bit of of Gold Magic Mesh before adhering the tree.

I layered old Olive Panels on each side of the inside and printed the verse (again, found on the internet) onto Naturals Ivory CS (SU).  I trimmed it with my labels nestabilities and inked the edges.  I repeated the process with another piece of Naturals Ivory CS, but instead of printing, I stamped the Sentiment (SU) in Always Artichoke.

For my last bit of creativity, this is one of the cards for my swap submission.  The guidelines were that I had to use blue as the predominant color and that the card had to be a 4×4 square.  So, this little cutie (and an attempt at working with a hybrid approach) was born.  She’s a digi-stamp from Inky Impressions (they gave her away as a blog freebie and they’re also having a Design Team Call).  I printed her onto white Georgia Pacific CS (Sam’s) – I made the sky background paper myself in Photoshop (thanks Bunny – I loved the overlay) and the grass is a digi-paper from Garden Greens by Kim Broedelet.  She’s colored with a mixture of mediums, including Copics (E00, E02, E33, RV11, G09), Spica pens (Clear, Black, and Blue), and SU Markers (Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Green Galore, and Close to Cocoa). The little flowers are Prima with Silver Stickles centers.  The blue bauble is from Suzanne at the Crafting Connection (soon to have her own store).  I trimmed and mounted her onto blue gingham DP from The Paper Studio The Basics 12×12 pad (Hobby Lobby). The base CS is DCWV The Spring Cardstock Stack.

Whew – I told you I’d been busy! I still have a couple more in the works, but that’s be another post! So, I’ve covered the’ “cards” part, now let’s move to the candy!  La-La Land is opening a new store, having a Design Team Call and giving away some fabulous animal-themed candy including the SU punches and 3 new Magnolia stamps from the Summer kit (deadline is August 5)!!! 

Now, for the and more…lots of new stuffies in the DSO store, and tomorrow all of the new challenges will be up!  Hooray!  Just look at what the team has been up to (and keeping the QA team on their toes)! 

Ok – I’m heading out! I found a Dell Studio laptop for an absolute steal at Staples, so I snagged it for my little brother (it’s a surprise for college and he doesn’t know about it yet).  I ordered MS Office Pro 2007 for him and need to get it and his new printer (another surprise – there goes my crafting budget) drivers installed.  Have a fabulous weekend and give someone you love a hug!

DSO is looking for a few talented individuals to join our Design Team.

We are a tight-nit, FUN, crazy, group of ladies and would love to add a few like minded individuals to our team!
If you are interested in joining our team, please go here to read more about our designer expectations and the packages we currently offer.
If you know of someone looking for a new place to call home, please let them know about our call! If they join our team, and put YOUR FORUM USER NAME in the REFERRED BY box on the application: You will get a small finders fee "Thank You" from DSO!

Our terms are really simple:

    70/30 (Designer/Store) NO PARTICIPATION

The store keeps 30% of sales.  We cover incoming paypal fees.

    75/25  (Designer/Store) FOR CHALLENGE HOSTS

Challenge Hosts receive  75% of sales for months they host challenges.

Fees:

Set Up Fee: $20 {WAIVED DURING JULY!}
No monthly Hosting Fees

Requirements (including but not limited to):

• We have no product requirements or participation requirements.  
• $100 per month sales minimum.
• All product goes through our "quality check" to be processed. 

APPLICATION PROCESS:

You may fill out an application HERE.  Not all applicants will be accepted. 

For more information please email Designer Info.

We’re also starting the first ever DSO Store CT! So if you love scrapbooking, are fun, friendly and willing/able to work with a variety of styles,  we’d love to hear from you!

The Basic Guidelines:

• 2 Digital Layouts or 1 Hybrid Project per kit
• Layouts uploaded to the DSO Gallery + 2 Additional Galleries of your choice.
• Post your layouts on your blog (or the DSO blog).
• Minimum of 2 kits per month.
• Write a review in our Store for the Products you use (optional but we would LOVE it).

The Perks:

• CT members get all product used for CT purposes FREE.
• CT members have access to some pre-release items!
• CT of the MONTH will win a GC to the DSO Store which is valid on anything sold at DSO. (Even items NOT currently available as "free to CT"!!)
• Lots of   from the DSO Design Team!

Sound interesting?  If you would like to apply please send a brief bio, a link to you most complete gallery, and a list of other commitments you currently have to Lynn, our CT manager.

We can’t wait to hear from you (Serious Inquiries only please)!

Have a great day!

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