Card Design: Victorian Christmas with Nicecrane Designs

Hello to you all on this lovely Wednesday evening.  It is time to share my latest Nicecrane Designs creation with you all.  This one uses one of the pretty images from the Christmas Roses CS Vol 2 collection. There are some wonderful old Victorian images in this set.  

I decided to make another non-traditional Christmas card and I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.  Many of the images from Nicecrane's, suitable for Christmas cards, lend themselves well to the non-tradtional look. 

Thankfully this also means I have another Christmas card to add to the pot.  As Kris over on Imagine That! Digis by Kris keeps reminding us with a countdown, Christmas is now less than 64 days away.  EEEEEKKKKK!!!!

Anyway...here are my card and the details...

Christmas Cards to date for 2015:  23

FRONT

Digital Image Details: 

• Christmas Roses CS Vol 2:  This great set features several beautiful young ladies all in various types of scenes.  For this card I used the image you see second down in the top right hand corner of the preview below.  Click on the name or the watermark below to take you to its location in the store (I realize the preview sheet says Vol 1, however the link in the store says Vol 2, so I'm going to go by that).

Embellishments: 

• The ribbon is Crafts brand and was purchased at Dollarama.

INSIDE

Digital Sentiment: 

• This wonderful sentiment was created by Paulette from Create with TLC.  While I picked it up a while back as a freebie, you can purchase it in the Happy Happy Joy Joy Word Art Set OR in the Joy, Joy, Joy Digi Image Set.  I've linked the two watermarks below to go to their location in the store.  For great freebies and inspiration be sure to click HERE to go to Paulette's blog and to see more awesome sets available for sale, click HERE to go to the home page of the store.

OVERALL
Paper Products: 

• Card base and matting:  Michael's Recollection's Cardstock, ivory.
• Image and sentiment bases:  Michael's Recollection's Cardstock, white.
• The designer paper is from Recollection's either the Mosaic Memories Paper Pad or the Paisley and Damask Paper Pad.  Man, I really need to start writing these things down ahead of time.
  
• The paper used as accent strips are from Ki Fancy Free paper pad.

 
Challenges I am hoping to enter... 

• http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.ca/ -- Always Anything Goes
• http://kraftinkimmiestamps.blogspot.ca/ -- Wonderful Wednesdays:  Anything Goes
• http://www.craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.ca/ (3E) -- Always Anything Goes
• http://inspirationdestinationchallengeblog.blogspot.ca/ -- Always Anything Goes
• http://scrappers-delights-challenge-blog.blogspot.co.uk/(UL) -- Always Anything Goes 
• http://ttcrd.blogspot.ca/ -- Always Anything Goes (1st Entry)
• http://yourscrapbookplace.blogspot.ca/ (3E) -- Always Anything Goes
• http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.ca/ -- For a Child or Include a Child
• http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk/ -- Anything Goes:  Christmas
• http://christmasblogchallenge.blogspot.ca/ -- Christmas with a Ribbon
• http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.ca/ -- Anything Goes with Patterned Paper
• http://abcchristmaschallenge.blogspot.ca/ -- Unusual Christmas Colours

Before I go...
If you like the Christmas Roses set be sure to check out Vol. 1 featuring the sweet little girls you see below (click on image below to head to its location).

Don't forget, to stay current on ALL the latest releases and to check out the fabulous inspiration from my fellow DT members, be sure to head over to the Nicecrane Designs blog.

I am so happy that you had a chance to pop by and check out my latest creation.  It is time to get working on my progressive challenge creations.  Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow to share the first one of the month with you! 

Until next time,

World Card Making Day Celebration 2015!

Well the day may be almost over (I have about two minutes to spare before midnight) but the World Card Making Day Celebration will continue.  It has been a long week and and a rather long day but I couldn't let it go by without some sort of acknowledgement.

How wonderful to have a day that honours the creativity behind making handmade cards and the personal connection that they create between us and the people we send them to.  I really love this idea!!!!  So without further ado, let's kick of my particular World Card Making Day event, Décosse's Dynamite Doodles style and you know what that means...PRESENTS!

According to the official website for World Card Making Day, this occasion was first observed on October 7, 2006.  It was founded by Paper Crafts magazine and started out being celebrated simply as National Card Making Day in the United States.  The initial celebration involved the Paper Crafts magazine audience only; however, there was such an incredible response from patrons worldwide that from that point on, the holiday became known as World Card Making Day . While it began as a way to bring card makers together to get a head start on the Christmas card making rush, it has developed into a day for anyone involved in the card making community to "unite and celebrate the connection and creativity that is the heart of card making." ("Holiday History," n.d., para 2)   Sounds like a worthwhile day to celebrate in my books!  So, let's bring on the presents, shall we?!

First off I have FIVE sentiments that I am offering as straight up freebies for everyone:

© 2015

 Font Information:

• Classy Pirate font created by Design TNT

© 2015

Font Information: 

• Dollar Bill font created by Twicolabs
• Alcubierre font created by Matt Ellis

© 2015

Font Information: 

• Bigelow Rules font created by Astigmatic One Eye Typographic Institute

© 2015

Font Information: 

• Lemon Chicken font created by Crack-A-Jack Studios

© 2015

Font Information: 

• Merkin font created by Apostrophic Lab

All of these free fonts were listed as free for commercial use at the time these creations were made.

Please be sure to click on the images to bring them up into the lightbox in their proper size before saving them.  Click on the font name to take you to a download location.  It is my understanding, that I am within my rights to use these fonts in my creations and offer them to others.  Please refer to my full terms of service for what you can and cannot do with this digital creation.

These word art creations are in png format and published at 300 ppi. They are quite large in order to accommodate different programs that people work with.   If you are a card maker you can always resize them smaller without distorting the quality.   

Credit Notes For These Creations:
© Lisa L. Décosse. PUO. However, you are allowed to use the sentiments on handmade projects that you intend to sell on a small scale basis provided credit is given. You also need to include a credit note and a link to this blog should you use any of my images in your creations and post them on your blog. Please be sure to familiarize yourself with my full terms of use found in the 'Download Instructions & T.O.U.' tab at the top of this page. Of important note:  Please do not share my images with family, friends, etc. Additionally, do not post any images to file sharing services like Box®, 4-Shared®, etc. Instead, please direct people to my blog(s) so they can grab the image for themselves. If you would like to post a watermarked version of the image, please contact me to obtain one.


How is that for a start?!  Now just like last year, I do have a little something extra planned, but this time you need to do some work yourself.  Since this celebration is all about our cards, I thought it would be nice to see one of your favourite cards that you created and posted about, during this past year from Oct. 2014 - Oct. 2015.  I was going to ask you to share your favourite, but when I thought about it, I could never come up with an absolute favourite myself.  I have a range of cards that are my favourite and I am guessing that you do as well.  So, start scrolling through your old posts and find a card that you really, really like.  Come over here and link it up BUT you also have to leave me a comment on this post telling me WHY it is one of your favourites.  That isn't too difficult now is it?  You'll have the chance to win one of my scrapbooking kits--your choice!

Now hmm...which card should I post as one of my favourites?  While I don't have as many this year, there are still quite a few I am proud of.  I guess the one I will go with is a wedding card that I created.  To refresh you on what it looked like, I have included it below (featuring an image from Nicecrane Designs)...

Okay, now it is your turn, I want to see one of your favourite cards.  You must link up your choice below in order to have a chance at winning the prize.  Remember, you don't need to create anything new, just link up a post from sometime during the past year.  You do however, need to come back and leave me a comment letting me know why you chose this card as being one of your fondest. 

This link up below will be open until 11:55 p.m. on October 17th and winners will chosen shortly thereafter.  This is one of those rare times where backlinking is allowed.  You can link up a maximum of three of your favourite cards.  However, if you do not provide a comment telling me why you linked your choice(s) you will NOT be eligible to win a prize.  It doesn't have to be too long but it does have to explain your reasoning for choosing.  You do not have to be a follower but it would be nice for you to become one, if you decided you like it over here.

So what are you waiting for?!  Get choosing and I hope to see you back here soon.

Until next time,

An InLinkz Link-up

Card Design: Christmas Birds with Nicecrane Designs

Hello on this last hour of the last day of the month!  It is time to share my latest Nicecrane Designs creation with you all.  This one uses one of the sweet images from the Vintage Birds Greeting Cards collection. There are some lovely images in this set.  

Today I'm showcasing one of the images suitable for making a Christmas card.  I've been so busy behind the scenes that I am a bit behind in making my Christmas cards.  Maybe it is the reduced activity on my blog that has also caused the loss of two of my followers in the past two weeks or I suppose it could be because I don't really get to visit anyone anymore. :(

Anyway...here are my card and the details...

Christmas Cards to date for 2015:  22

 
General Info:

• I opted to go non-traditional for this Christmas card basing the palette on colour choices from the image.

FRONT

Digital Image Details: 

• Vintage Birds Greeting Cards:  This great set features several bird images, some suitable for Christmas cards.  For this card I used the image you see in the top right hand corner of the preview below.  Click on the name or the watermark below to take you to its location in the store.

Embellishments: 

• The ribbon is Celebrate It brand and was purchased at Michael's.

INSIDE

Digital Sentiment Details: 

• This awesome sentiment was created by Paulette from Create with TLC. I coloured it digitally using different colours from the image.  You can purchase it in the "Tis the Season 2" Vintage Image Transfer and Word Art Set.  I've linked the watermark below to go to its location in the store.  For great freebies and inspiration be sure to click HERE to go to Paulette's blog and for more awesome sets for purchase, click HERE to go to the home page of the store.

OVERALL
Paper Products: 

• Card, image and sentiment bases:  Michael's Recollection's Cardstock, white.
• The designer paper is from Recollection's The Sweetest Thing Paper Pad.
  
• Matting:  From my stash but originally from one of the  Recollection cardstock collections that I own.

 
Challenges I am hoping to enter... 

• http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.ca/ -- Always Anything Goes
• http://kraftinkimmiestamps.blogspot.ca/ -- Wonderful Wednesdays:  Anything Goes
• http://www.craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.ca/ (3E) -- Always Anything Goes
• http://inspirationdestinationchallengeblog.blogspot.ca/ -- Always Anything Goes
• http://scrappers-delights-challenge-blog.blogspot.co.uk/(UL) -- Always Anything Goes 
• http://ttcrd.blogspot.ca/ -- Always Anything Goes (1st Entry)
• more to come...

Before I go...
If you are a bird lover, be sure to also check out this great set of digital stamp images called Christmas Birds featuring the pretty birds you see below (click on image below to head to its location). 

Don't forget, to stay current on ALL the latest releases and to check out the fabulous inspiration from my fellow DT members, be sure to head over to the Nicecrane Designs blog.

I am so happy that you had a chance to pop by and check out my latest creation.  Once again, it is now time to work on some behind the scenes stuff for the challenges I run.  Hopefully, I'll see you all again very soon. 

Until next time,

Digital Design with Nicecrane Designs: Your Chance to Earn a Free Bathing Beauties Paper

Howdy all!  It is time to share my latest creation using images from Nicecrane Designs and best of all, if you are interested, you get the benefit of today's design for FREE!

With summer quickly slipping away, I thought it would be fun to make a paper using the fabulous images found in the Bringing Life Vintage Bathing set available from Nicecrane Designs.  I wanted to do something fun and vintage and of course with so many sets that can be used for commercial purposes, Nicecrane Designs was the perfect place to start. 

I thought that the images showcased in the Bringing Life Vintage Bathing set (preview above) would work perfectly for what I had intended (if you'd like to purchase the set yourself, just click on the preview to find it in the store).  So I brought them into Photoshop Elements 12, did some magic and voilà, a new digital paper was born.  Check it out...

While it is difficult to see in the preview, I added some texture in a couple different ways to give it even more of a vintage feel.  This paper will be featured in a future kit I've got in mind called Seaside Memories of Old. This paper is 3600 x 3600 pixels (i.e. 12 inches), in jpg format and published at 300 dpi.  In the zip folder you will find a copy of the paper, its preview sheet, the credit information and my terms of use which are standard to all my folders.   Credits include:  Nicecrane Designs of course and Marisa Lerin, Pixel Scrapper.  Full credit info is in the file.

If you like this digital paper for free, simply leave me a comment with the following info: 

• Let me know the name of your favourite set from any of those offered in the Vintage Fashion section of the Nicecrane Designs store. Click HERE for the direct link to that specific section.
• Of course if I don't already have your email address, you'll need to provide me with some way to contact you.

That is it, that is all.  Pretty easy eh?  

I look forward to seeing what your favourite vintage fashion sets are.

Until next time,

Card Design: Hello from Nicecrane Designs

Hello on this lovely Thursday afternoon.   It is time to share my latest Nicecrane Designs creation with you all.  This one uses a lovely vintage nature image from the Celebration of Youth collection.  The images in this set are so pretty. 

Here are my card and the details...

General Info:  

• I think that the Nicecrane Designs images are so beautiful that I don't like to add much to many of the cards that I make with them.  The images speak for themselves.  For this card I focussed on highlighting three of the beautiful colours from the image.
• I also kept the inside blank for a change so I could add my own message when ready to send the card.

FRONT

Digital Image Details: 

• Celebration of Youth:  This great set features some really nice scenes--most with people and then one with a pretty country scene which is the one I used for this particular card.  You can find the image I used in the bottom right hand corner of the preview below.  I just cropped it slightly to make it work for this card.  Click on the name or the watermark below to take you to its location in the store.

Digital Sentiment Details:

• The white area of the image offered the perfect place to add a small sentiment.  I simply added the word 'hello', layering it on top of the image before printing. 
  

OVERALL
Paper Products: 

• Image base:  Michael's Recollection's Cardstock, white.
• Card base & matting:  From my scrap pile but definitely from different Michael's Recollection's Cardstock collections that I own.

Challenges I am hoping to enter... 

• http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.ca/ -- Always Anything Goes
• http://kraftinkimmiestamps.blogspot.ca/ -- Wonderful Wednesdays:  Anything Goes
• http://www.craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.ca/ (3E) -- Always Anything Goes
• http://sisteractcardchallenge.blogspot.ca/ (UL) -- Always Anything Goes (but must be a card)
• http://inspirationdestinationchallengeblog.blogspot.ca/ -- Always Anything Goes
• http://scrappers-delights-challenge-blog.blogspot.co.uk/(UL) -- Always Anything Goes 
• http://ttcrd.blogspot.ca/ -- Always Anything Goes (2nd Entry)

Before I go...
Keeping in line with the idea of nature, be sure to also check out this pretty set of images called Colorful Nature featuring birds, squirrels and other beauties in nature (click on image below to head to its location). 

Don't forget, to stay current on ALL the latest releases and to check out the fabulous inspiration from my fellow DT members, be sure to head over to the Nicecrane Designs blog.

I am so happy that you had a chance to pop by and check out my latest creation.  I'll be working on some behind the scenes stuff over the course of the next few days but hopefully will see you all again soon.
 
Until next time,