Scrap Around the Globe

Gardening tips in the Guardian

2012-01-04T10:44:00.018Z

This is an old one that I have re-worked. Looking back over my older stuff, I cringe at the terrible lighting, shading etc. I really dislike the Guardian newspaper and have no idea if it has a gardening section. My son-in-law reads the Guardian and I tease him endlessly about it. Luckily he takes it all with the good humour with which it is intended. Most of the elements used are from one of my favourite designers - Finecrafted designs. This kit is Meet the Mandrakes: http://www.deviantscrap.com/shop/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=15&page=1

New Year

2011-12-31T19:32:00.005Z

Hi Again. Well I just checked out a YouGov survey about what people thought the New Year would bring, and they are all as full of doom and gloom as I am. Seriously, not one positive prediction to be found. I haven't made a resolutiom for years, but I have made one in advance of midnight tonight. I am going to stop seperating my life from my art and am going to post a lot more about me and what I am up to. I'm venturing into jewellery making along with a thousand other things.It did not really dawn on me that others might find what I do to be particularly interesting, but having spent a lot of time on a lot of blogs lately, I really appreciate what people post. I've been really captured by stories of heartbreak, pictures of experiments that have gone wrong, and just the sharing and generosity of spirit of bloggers out there. This year I am going to share more of my failures, things I like and what I am up to. I just coloured some beads that were a flat turqoiuse colour, with alcohol inks. I now have delightful speckled beads which have a depth they did not have before. I will post photos of these and tips, in the hope that I will get some back too. There must be a better way of sealing beads than painting them with clear nail varnish! Anyways, enough of my ramblings. Here is a challenge I have just completed for 2012 I was not allowed to use real people, so had to use symbolism. Could feel my anger rising as I was working on this image. I'm so unhappy about the state of the UK and Europe. Not at all happy with this picture but am posting it anyway and am always open to feedback. ...and to all of you whose images I used and was too lazy to credit for, I shall make it up to you next year :-) xxx Happy New Year!

Updates, opinions, news etc

2011-12-31T18:42:00.010Z

Hi and Happy New Year everyone. Hope you had a good Christmas. I did not even get around to posting my Christmas card. Thinking back to last Christmas when my partner and I were really ill, I was relieved that I escaped that lurgy this year. My partner was struck again with another lurgy on Boxing Day. Well I don't like Christmas and seem to like it less with each passing year. Can't believe that people actually spent their Christmas day hunting down sale bargains and camping out at shops as early as 5am for boxing day sales. Relentless adverts on TV. Can't they give us just one day off? I've had De Quervains (damage to wrist and thumb tendons) which has been ongoing since before Christmas. My GP said to rest, but the NHS does not provide house maids, and photoshop does not do voice control. Thinking it was not very clever of me to use the Wacom tablet for everything though and considering going back to using a mouse again. I have cut back on computer use and am doing more hands on crafts again. I'm really interested in jewellery which fulfills my passion for recycling. Bought lots of vintage and broken jewellery on Ebay and made a few necklaces which I should have posted here. My New Year resolution is to post more on my blog about all sorts of things and not to keep my art seperate from political issues. Here is the Christmas card I should have posted earlier: Here are the credits and some images I used: Managed to fit in another art challenge at Images by Kim - Pocket Packet Friday's Challenge. This one was on favourite flowers. I'm fussy about roses, and could not find a red one I really liked in my collection. Very pleased with how this one turned out: Lots of layers and fiddling with this, but this is what I started with:

RIP Christopher Hitchins

2011-12-16T10:38:00.003Z

So saddened over the death of Christopher Hitchins today. Britain has lost a wonderful intellect and a man of substance. May his love of free speech live on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2nyBOucJcc

Halloween witch freebie CU OK

2011-10-28T10:45:00.019+01:00

A long overdue freebie for you. I need a witch for a project and decided to create one. Hope you like it. It is a .png file. Background is not included. You can download the file here: http://dc426.4shared.com/download/gjcrnEEw/my_witch_cat.zip If some kind fairy could tell me where I am going wrong with 4shared, I'd be grateful. Meanwhile, just right click on the png file to download

I'm back

2011-10-11T08:59:00.009+01:00

It's nice to be back.I've had to deal with two parents who have dementia. Not easy to move people from their home to residential care, but needs must. So many 1000mile trips to deal with dilemmas, house clearance etc. At least they are in a nearby residential home now and I can begin to get my life back. I haven't taken part in many challenges, just snatching the odd hour or so to scrapbook my grandchildren. Apologies in advance for not giving full credits to the designers whose designs I use in my creations. I really must find a system to record everything I use. Would be easier if I stuck to just one kit instead of using bits and pieces from different kits and freebies. I used a freebie kit from PSJ designs - www.pstogether.blogspot.com Isn't my little grandson as cute as a button? I used one of my favourite kits from the Inner Voice kit by Finecrafted designs for this one of my grandson. He is into building huge towers with his building bricks. Here he is dressing up. He could not decide whether he wants to be a chef or a pirate. I've used Lorie Davison's kit for the background. Even pirates need a tea break :-) For this one, I used StarLightDesigns Crazy Backyard kit. I used a background paper from Downunder Studios - Touch of Fantasy Kit and blended it with an original photo, using an easel from another kit. Matrioshkidesigns.com Old Town Kit by Anna was used for this one. It was a very poor photograph and a real challenge. Messed around so much with various processes that I could not begin to describe how I arrived at the final copy.

Inspired by Hindu Holi Festival

2011-06-28T14:05:00.004+01:00

I'm currently writing a book for my grandchildren, with made up poems about elephants. This was inspired by a photo and Indian friend of mine took of the Hindu Holi festival. It was a wonderful riot of colour, caused by people throwing coloured powder at each other. Sounds like great fun. I don't know if elephants are part of the festival, but I found an image of two painted elephants on Flickr. Sorry I can't remember who to give credits to. I love the way Indians paint everything that stands still (I can definitely relate):-) I've used lots of overlays with this and different blending modes. I'm no expert on Hinduism. Lord Ganesh who is sitting on the elephants was an afterthought. I chose it because it fitted in so well with the elephants. I completed another iris image for the challenge I completed yesterday The door was part of a kit by Magical Reality Designs.

Digital Whispers Iris Challenge

2011-06-27T19:52:00.007+01:00

The Digital Whispers Challenge this week was to create something with the image of an iris Kimmie provided. It had bloomed in her garden. We also had to describe how we created the image. First I created a fake HDR image of the iris. Played around with different layer effects for the other photos and coloured in the fairies with a dual brush, using the colours from the iris flower for the dress. I used a background image from Magical Reality Designs, which I forgot to include here. The sky is a gradient, again using the colours from the iris flower. I texturized the background paper with a texture I created myself. Colour burned the edges and added torn paper for interest.

Burgers

2011-06-23T10:31:00.002+01:00

What a fun challenge at Digital Whispers this week. We had to fill a burger bun. Here's how I filled mine. Yellow Background paper by Stephanie@Digital Whispers, Sea,diver and vintage beach tag by Tangled Fish Studio@DeviantArt.com - At the Beach Kit. Legs from a vintage Christmas Card.

Bingo Challenge

2011-06-16T21:17:00.003+01:00

I'm not a bingo fan and found this a tough challenge to do. Will have to come back later with the credits. Some elements are from Tangie Baxter's steampunk kit. The challenge was hosted by Kimmie at DigitalArt+Images by Kim. I was messing around with different textures trying to create a convincing skin tone for an underwater scene. Layers upon layers upon layers in this one. There's probably a fast route to achieving the same effects. I used the High Pass filter on my grandson's image. I'm not really sure what it does but it produced some interesting effects lol

Digital Whispers mermaid challenge

2011-06-10T12:43:00.004+01:00

The challenge at Digital Whispers Photomanipulation group was to create a mermaid. I had fun with this. Here are the images I used:

Crown challenge

2011-06-10T12:31:00.002+01:00

Another fun challenge at Pocket Packet Friday's group. The them is to create something from a crown. Who wears one? I decided to crown a hen. Humble creatures who give a lot in terms of fun, eggs and chicken. I altered the background paper from Valentina's I Love You Grandma kit.

Frame freebie. CU use OK

2011-05-26T12:48:00.000+01:00

Here is a freebie frame for you. I made it for this photo of my grandson, dancing to Lady Gaga. He's so cute dancing. Wish I could say the same for Lady Gaga's dreadful music:-)
Scroll down to second pic and right click to save to your computer. I've had to reduce size to 200png 8x8 but it will easily enlarge to 12x12 and 300 dpi. Credits would be nice but not essential. Elements are from Lorie Davidson-Greyhouse Manor. Will have to add credits for the photo later.

Here is the .png transparent file.

Butterfly freebie

2011-05-25T15:15:00.000+01:00

This is a .png file in 300 dpi. Enjoy! Just right click to download to your files.

Mist - Challenge 41 of 100 Challenges at Digital Whispers

2011-05-14T19:42:00.002+01:00

I've been busy creating. Glad that the blog is up and running again. Seems there has been faults with it.
I used the kit Link Your Inner Voice for the figures. The ballerina was from Effie's blog, listed under my favourite blogs at the bottom of this page. Wish I could get them to show up at the side again. Oh well. One of these days I will learn how to create a nice blog.

This one I created for Art and Images by Kim group /pocketpacketfridays The theme was cherries. I found it incredibly difficult to come up with anything. I don't like pink very much, but cherry blossom is beautiful so I had to add some. The woman is from FarFarHill blogspot. I altered it.

I'm not having much success with trying to create glows on faces. I found a candles photo on DeviantArt and combined it with a photo of my grandson. I darkened one of the layers of grandson, added a brighter layer and then added highlights. I should have used gaussian blur for the layers of light. Kept messing with the layer effects and added a noise filter which helped cover up my mistakes a little. I'm not happy with this one but will keep trying.

Having fun creating images of my grandchildren

2011-05-11T23:32:00.001+01:00

I've been experimenting with trying to create a glow in faces. Easier said than done. It worked with this stock image of Skydancer at DeviantArt. He shares some fantastic images on there. Well worth a visit. I think my Grandson's face is too yellow. Not really happy with it. The lighting on the left of the picture was a BBQ. Not a successful photo, but I liked the lighting effects.

I used Marta VanEck Steampunk kit for the background. Various other elements from other kits used too. I cut out the golden globe myself from old photographs. I cannot remember who originally posted the globe photo.

ic
Fantastic kits at DeviantScrap. Most of the elements are from the Steamtown Detectives kit by Beth Rimmer. I've altered bits and pieces, such as adding the chimney stacks and the monkey Rd sign. Cannot remember where the popcorn machine came from. Probably one of Effie's.

Another super kit from DeviantScrap This one is called: Your Inner Voice. I could kick myself that I accidentally deleted one of the zip files so don't have the complete kit.

floral/Roman challenge at Digital Whispers

2011-05-11T22:37:00.000+01:00

Another fun challenge at Digital Whispers this week. I've posted the credits and images I used beneath the picture. I love the brushes. I really must remember to use brushes more. I chose a clock because Romans gave us the concept of time. I'm not always happy about it because birthdays were too slow to come around when I was a kid, and now they are all too close together. 24 hours in a day is not enough.

Sweet kit that I won

2011-04-25T13:46:00.000+01:00

I love this fresh looking kit. I was lucky enough to win it. Thanks Elle de mai
This is my little grandson exploring the environment and enjoying the tulips.

Digital Whispers Challenge

2011-04-19T20:51:00.000+01:00

Loved the challenge this week at Digital Whispers. We were given a glass globe to do something with. There is something very inspiring about globes. I just let my imagination rip with this one. I submitted my pic without the addition of my little grandson. He's really into climbing frames at the moment, much to the trepidation of my daughter :-) Here he is out on a limb on a giant daffodil.
Thomas B. of Germany - Stock.xchng provided the globe. I sort of straightened it out by using the sphere filter and converting the globe to a rectangle. Liked the way it swept up the sides and distorted the daffodils. I then used a flood filter for the background and for the individual globes. Found a lovely waterfall image which I downloaded on DeviantArt. As per usual, I don't know who created it. If you know, please alert me so's I can give credits.

Digital Whispers Challenge

2011-04-12T08:39:00.000+01:00

This week's challenge at Digital Whispers was really enjoyable. The image for the challenge is shown here. The image can be found at DeviantArt website:

Giveaway goodies

2011-04-12T08:29:00.001+01:00

Just a note to let you know about a fantastic giveaway by Kimmie. She has a box of goodies, stuffed with ephemera to get your creative juices flowing. Just leave a note for her on her blog to be in with a chance of winning. Art and Images by Kim

Wings freebie

2011-04-08T11:05:00.001+01:00

I've been doodling again. These wings may be useful to you? No credits required and please do not sell these either on their own or as part of a kit. Credits would be nice if you use them in a project and it would be nice if you link back to me. I'm posting these as .png files. You should be able to just right click on them and download to your computer.
They are 6x12 inches so will show up much clearer in the actual files.
Enjoy!

The Pecking Order

2011-04-04T16:38:00.000+01:00

At last, I seem to be inspired again. I've produced a few scrapbook pages of my grandchildren. Other than that, not much at all. The challenge at Digital Whispers dark challenge group this week was a picture of a rather cute cat. I'm not a cat person at all, and am know to refer to them as bird murderers. Payback time I thought *wicked grins*

I've used a variety of elements for this image. Some of them are from Holliewood's nightmares kit. Of course I haven't jotted down what else I used. Will come back to this when I have made some notes.

African Sunset - Valentine Challenge at Digital Whispers

2011-02-14T16:05:00.003Z

You can read the complete poem here This is a lovely poem by Helen Masido Mwambi.
Thanks to Katlovestock at DeviantArt for the model.Click here for her website
Painting is an ink painting of mine.

Freebie background paper CU use OK

2011-01-27T12:50:00.000Z

Here's another background paper I created for you CU use OK No credits needed but would be nice.
It's JPG 300 dpi

Click here to download file from 4 shared

Never mind Alice, I'm in wonderland

2011-01-25T19:15:00.001Z

Don't you just love it when you learn something new? It's probably common knowledge, but I had no idea that I could import my own textures into photoshop. I've always like the texturize filter but dislike that the tiles repeat too often for my liking. Also the limited textures available seldom match what I'm trying to match up with. The image below is a classic example of this. I purchased some Alice in Wonderland book illustrations at Nicerane designs. I introduced my little grandson into the picture. It was cute but he kinda stood out like a sore thumb against the noise filled background of old fashioned printing methods. I tried the usual textures but they did not look right. It was at this point that I discovered I could import textures. I will be making a lot of use of this in the future. I used the posterize filter to remove the photographed look. Instead of returning to the filter, I decided to copy and paste a selection of the main picture and placed it over grandson image, reducing opacity and setting filter to overlay blend. I repeated this with part of the mushroom. I'm quite happy with the effects I achieved. Much better than just plonking the photograph into the vintage image. I think he blends in much better with that magical environment now.

CU freebie Background Paper

2011-01-24T13:03:00.000Z

Here is the freebie I promised. Hope you like it. Please give credits and link back to me would be nice. Do not sell for money. Thanks

Click here to download file at 4shared

Week two of Journal Magic Class - Marie Otero

2011-01-24T11:59:00.000Z

When oh when is this illness going to depart? I'm still feeling wretched, but my partner is 10 times worse. Our ever failing NHS pawned him off with a doctor at the hospital because our local surgery decided to close for training. Could this not be done in their own time? £100000 a year for GP salaries and they are offering less of a service than ever before. Would be nice to have a fluent English speaking doctor too! The substitute GP managed to mis-diagnose bronchitis, but did get the conjunctivitis correct. Thanks to that overpaid goon, he is now worse! Anyway, enough politics. I'm just frustrated that I haven't had time to set up my political blog and neither have I been participating in the Digital Whispers challenges. I have made time for the Marie Otero classes though. Who would have thought that tutorial could be so much fun? For me they are normally just a means to an end, but Marie Otera makes the learning process fun. I can now create patterns amongst other things, as well as my own brushes. I'm going to put the paper I created up for a freebie. I rather like it. I'm still very much at the hit and miss stage with creating patterns. You would be hard pushed to know that the overlay on my paper was a carefully constructed pattern of feathers. No matter, I'm pleased with it and hope you will be too.
Here is what I created in week 2. Can't wait for week 3

Digital Journal Magic taught by Marie Otero.

2011-01-21T16:44:00.001Z

Aaaargh It never rains but it pours. No sooner is my father out of hospital, than my other half is off sick with a double virus. Conjunctivitis and laryngitis. I think the dreaded lurgy is visiting me now. I'm feeling wretched today.
So much for creating a new blog design. I've been busy trying to retrieve lost files. Got most of them from my emergency external hard drive so things could be a lot worse.

Started an online class with Marie Otero last week and learned so much. I'm loving it. It's unheard of for me to follow a tutorial so rigidly. Well I changed the title, but not much else. What usually happens is that I get bored or stuck partway through tutorials and just wander off and do my own thing. The tutorials were so clear and easy to understand though. I'm not too keen on the white outlining on the first image. I'm a bit of a stickler for extracting images with a pen tool, and tend to use shadows rather than pen outlines. I loved the doodling part and got quite carried away. Was so pleased with my bird and crown that I re-used it in the second image that I just doodle, inspired by all the new techniques I've learned.
Not sure how I'm going to get on with masking. I've never gotten to grips with it before so this will really be a challenge.
Anyway, enough of my prattling. Here are the images I've created.

My little grandson

2011-01-19T10:27:00.001Z

This was from a lovely kit at http://digi-loulous.blogspot.com. It's free if you sign up for her newsletter. I'm not happy with the shading on this one and the composition could have been a lot better, but I've been too busy to do much about it. Besides, my tendency to overwork everything will likely just make things worse :-)

My New Grandson

2010-12-28T19:40:00.001Z

The best Christmas present of all!

Final challenge for the Digital Whispers 12 Days of Christmas

2010-12-28T14:19:00.001Z

This is the last of the challenges for Christmas. We were provided with an image of a castle. I think the idea was to use the windows to display all the challenges we have created for the Digital Whispers challenges. There was no way I could fit these into windows. They would have been tinier than postage stamps, so I had to come up with the idea of frames. Hope all the snow does not damage the pictures ;-)
This was so much fun and incredibly time consuming. Had I not felt so ill during the Christmas period, I doubt I'd have been able to complete it.
Incase anyone reading this also suffers from sinusitis, I can recommend the raw garlic cure. The difference today is just amazing, and I only started chomping on raw garlic yesterday. My other half says you could strip paint off doors with my breath lol but it is worth it to get some relief.

Elements used in this were icicles and owl from Holliewood's Christmas Morning kit. Frames were from Kubivet. Not sure of source for vintage girl. I created my own snow brush to paint the frame and snow on items.

12 Days of Christmas Challenges

2010-12-24T18:38:00.002Z

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. I got the best ever Christmas pressie yesterday - a new Grandson called Elias.
Our area has been badly hit by snow. I love it even though it creates havoc everywhere.
Digital Whispers has been running a 12 days of Christmas challenge which has been both fun and challenging. The entries were just amazing.
Here's what I came up with. I'll post some freebies soon of things I made for the challenges.
On the first day of Christmas:
Not quite a partridge in a pear tree, but :-)

For some reason, I can't post the image of a girl with a partridge, so here is the third one. We had to create something using wings. I chose to create the tree. The ice sculpture is from the Swedish ice hotel. I duplicated the image.

I used elements from Holliewood Christmas Morning kit. Background arch is from Lorie Davidson Greyhouse Manor kit. Robins are my own pics. The collie birds were provided for the challenge

I cannot recall where I got the cute figures and background from. If anyone recognizes these, please give me a shout.

We had to create our own background paper from feathers for this challenge. I had taken a photo on the 19th of a snow covered palm tree, so decided to use that with a blue glitter paper I had painted some months ago.
The paper was then to be used in the next challenge

Swans and a ballet dancer. I had a photo of swans I took on the English canals, so used that. I think the dancers are from DeviantArt website

So much for following tutorials. This one for to make a white snowflake. I got rather carried away and ended up with crotcheted doillies instead, so hung them up inside the Christmas log cabin.

This was a ballerina challenge. Bluesse provided the empty room for me to furnish. The idea was that the ballerina had become an old woman and was reflecting upon her former life. I simply ran out of time, so here she is, still in her youth. She looked cold so I painted a fur wrap for her.

I almost didn't enter the 10 lords leaping challenge. We were provided with a pic of a hanky. Having the concentration span of a monkey at times, I wasn't really keen to do the tutorial to create an overlay from it. Was glad I did though. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. Then there was the problem of the Lords. I'm still furious at the corruption in Government and that people who contribute large sums of money to the two main parties can buy peerages. This was going to be a nasty picture. Then I had a braiwave that they needn't be real lords. I have a terrific admiration for salmon who swim upstream against so many odds. So I decided they were worthy to be lords:-) The elements are from Indigo and the kit is Legends of Scotland.
This turned out to be my favourite challenge of all.

I love the classical bagpipes and thought I'd have a little fun with this challenge.
I used a photo real pipers, added crazy wild eyes and painted over their hair. Braveheart eat your heart out lol.
Recalling a conversation I'd had with a friend, that bagpipes are not music, but instruments of war, I thought it could be fun to have someone bury their head in the snow rather than listen to the music.

Digital Whispers Cauldron Challenge

2010-10-26T19:03:00.000+01:00

A Halloween theme at Digital Whispers this week. We were invited to create something with a cauldron.
I used various elements here. Some are my own. The vulture, monkey and melting doll (which is in the cauldron and might be hard to see) are from Holliewood Studios - Nightmare kit.

There's also a Halloween challenge at Dezinaworld's blogspot. Here is my entry for this week's spot challenge

Masculine/Feminine Challenge at Dezinaworld

2010-10-21T16:02:00.000+01:00

There's a spot prize challenge at Dezinaworld's blog this week to create something with a masculine/feminine theme. I thought I'd have a bit of fun with it, and this is what I came up with. I can relate to Elizabeth ;-)
Curtains and platform are from Holliewood Theatre of Dreams. Background is from a vintage circus picture. Female is from a freebi kit by Efie.

Freebie metal flower with ring

2010-10-21T13:41:00.000+01:00

Here's another high resolution freebie for you. I quite like the results of my doodling. Hope you do too.

http://www.4shared.com/file/xOBFvZrV/HeatherB_Metal_flower_and_ring.html

Background Papers High Resolution CU freebie

2010-10-21T10:53:00.002+01:00

I've had these freebies made for a while now but hadn't got around to making the previews for them. Hope you like them.

Click here to download from 4shared website

Here's another freebie. I promised someone a rainbow balloon ages ago. The background paper is different to the preview, but is in the 5 free papers above.

Click here to download balloon and paper

Graveyard Challenge at Digital Whispers

2010-10-18T13:30:00.002+01:00

Another enjoyable challenge at Digital Whispers this week. We were provided with a picture of a graveyard

I guess I'm one of those weird people who enjoys visiting graveyards, reading names and dates on gravestones and wondering about people's lives. I've even come across early Pictish ones in Scotland, with skull and bones carved on them.

I added a textured background (texture68 by Sira_sdz at DeviantArt)
The cradle roll was photographed by my daughter who found it dumped outside a church. Music stand (Bluesse at DeviantArt) and I cannot remember where I found the vintage girl. I also used brushes by Obsidian Dawn.

There's a freebie gravestone at http://www.digivickie.com that I've used here. It really appealed to my sense of humour : 'I'm a Goner'
I've used it here with the same cemetry pic from Digital Whispers. I found the background on the web. Thanks to Bluesse again for the old dolls. I warped one.

Maggie Taylor Challenge

2010-10-15T18:11:00.000+01:00

Fantastic challenge at Digital Whispers this week. I'd never heard of Maggie Taylor before, but her artwork is awesome. She's an American Artist with a wild and vivid imagination. I love surrealism so this was right up my street. Background is by Fairygoodmother on DeviantArt website.

'Black' theme at Art and Images by Kim group

2010-10-14T14:06:00.002+01:00

There's some seriously lovely eye candy on the .Ning network. My interntet is actuallty working today so I took advantage and spent some time looking at people's creations. I also entered the 'Black Theme' challenge. Of course when you work with black, it forces you to consider light. Since I'm not very skilled with observing shadows and where light falls etc, I was daunted and probably score a zero for artistic ability. I did capture the dark and eerie part of the challenge though and am fairly happy with my efforts.
Models were from Bluesse at DeviantArt. Background photo is mine, candle was from one of Efie's kits and the raven was from a WLOP kit
Here's the link to Kim's group if you want to join a lively and eclectic art community.Click here to visit art and images by kim

It's hard to see at this size. Click on picture to enlarge

Eiffel Tower Challenge at DigitalWhispers

2010-10-11T14:10:00.000+01:00

There was an Eiffel Tower challenge at Digital Whispers this week.
Again I'm not really happy with my efforts. I should have scrapped the background paper which is a photo of a night-time barbeque we had. Stubborn old me persisted. and the end result is not what I wanted.

Looking at the other entries for the Eiffel Tower challenge, Stephanie had posted a wonderful one with a new kit which I had to have. It's by Holliewood - Nightmares.

The pram and grandfather clock are from MartaVan Eck's Attic kit. She also has a new kit out which is well worth checking out. I offered to do some designing for her and still haven 't made a start. Shame on me. I must learn not to get so distracted. Sofa is from Bluess at DeviantArt but I've made it shabby and almost unrecognizable

This second one is also using some elements from HollieWoods Nightmare kit. The gate and steps are from an Edinburgh photo. Model is a black and white photo called Joan by Mjranum from DeviantArt. I decided to add some colour to her.Skeleton clock is from my own collection.

Angel- Dezinaworld Challenge

2010-10-11T13:37:00.000+01:00

Shan't bore you all with my computer problems. I'm amazed I've got anything done at all. First of all, speeds slowed to snail's pace. The engineer blamed Firefox browser. I'm not convinced but removed it and replaced with Google Chrome. I've never resolved the problem with Windows 7 constantly dropping the drivers for my Wacom Tablet. Second Intuos2 tablet I've had and twice the wiring has gone wonky in same place. So struggling with dropped drivers and wonky wiring was more than I could bear. Got a second hand wacom wireless pen tablet. This is nowhere as intuitive as the Intuos tablet and explains why it was so much cheaper. I lost the pen for it. Searched high and low. It had rolled under the wardrobe and hidden itself.
Inbetween a stinking cold and a friend dying, I'm finally back to some semblence of reality (whatever that is) and even have some freebies which I haven't gotten around to posting.
This challenge at Dezinaworld's blog Click on link to visit blog is to create something with an angel or angels. I really like angels despite being totally non-religious so I had a go:

The best I can say for this is I like the textures. I insisted on shoving it into a frame and it now looks like a postage stamp. Really I would like to be working at 3ftx3ft I like big!

The shrine is from a kit I bought from Studio Gypsy-Shrine of the Times.
If, like me, you like to see work in progress, here are the images I used. I don't have the names of any of the designers, but will gladly add them if anyone can identify them.

lovely weather we are having :-)

2010-09-29T14:44:00.000+01:00

I had fun with this week's challenge at Digital Whispers. The challenge was to make something quirky with an umbrella. I used a flood filter which I think is from Filter Forge?
I wonder if anyone knows what happened to Kubivet? She used to have a fantastic blog with beautiful freebies. It has not been updated for a long time.

Challenge at Dezinaworld

2010-09-23T16:30:00.002+01:00

Create something with lilac in it. That's the challenge over at Dezinaworld's blog this week Click on the name to take a look. Also check out the lovely entries for last week's stained glass challenge.
I guess my entry is called hybrid? It started out as a card I made which wasn't lilac. In fact it was green, but thanks to the magic of digital tampering, it now has lilac in it.
Here's my entry. It looks dark at this low resolution. It was really bright at 300dpi

Digital Challenge for Autumn at Digital Whispers

2010-09-22T20:33:00.000+01:00

I love Autumn and the challenge was to create an image in Autumn colours at 8x4 inch size. It felt to me like working with a postage stamp but I gave it a go and here is what I came up with.
This is the image we were provided with. I just love that dress.

I still can't decide whether she looks better framed or out of the frame. Either way, I was quite happy with the colours.

Some of the elements are from Lorie Davidson. If anyone knows who created the journal cover, I'd really like to know. I've altered the colours on it a lot for the autumn theme and had this file for quite some time....back in the days when I never thought I'd publish anything online, so did not save the designer's name. Slap on the wrist to myself for that.

Apple house background paper freebie

2010-09-21T14:50:00.000+01:00

I've been messing around again. I've had this apple house half made since last year and finally got around to finishing it. Iwas going to make a quick page for you but I decided that I don't really like quick pages. I find the frames too small. Of course it leaves you with the challenge of extracting images. If you can't do it, send me the photo you want extracted in an email and I will do it for you (at least for the first 20 people who request this)

Hope you like it. I'd love to see what you make with it. I've left it at 300dpi for quality printing because there are so many details in it. Thanks to Efie for the Scottish outfit. Took me ages getting Carlshalton mouse dressed in it :-) It's for CU use. Credits would be nice. Please read the TOU for my terms.

Click on this link to download the file at 4shared

Balloon Freebie

2010-09-17T11:53:00.000+01:00

Clearing out my files here and have so many freebies to share. I got so frustrated at not being able to find a balloon I wanted for a project, that I decided to make my own. I also have a pretty rainbow one. If you would like it, just leave a comment and I will post it. Likewise, if you would like the background paper I used for the preview here, just give me a shout and I'll put that up as a freebie too. Hope the link works this time. I forgot to add it for my last freebie. It's fun making them but I really don't like wrapping them up in zip files and faffing around with 4shared uploads. Again I'd love to see what you make with this. Have a great weekend.

Click here to download the 300dpi .png file Ignore that it says preview file. It does actually contain the .png file. Just me being dopey again:-)

Make a card challenge at TLC blog

2010-09-14T15:52:00.000+01:00

I only discovered the TLC blog (click here to visit) for the first time yesterday. There is a challenge to make a card from a provided vintage image. This was the image provided:

Credits to Raspberry Road for the background paper, and to Peter's patterns for the patterns used.

Freebie Shell Mobile CU OK

2010-09-13T21:01:00.003+01:00

It has been ages since I gave away any freebies. Here's a shell mobile I made, photographed and extracted to a .png file. It is 300dpi resolution. I'd love to see what you make with it and will publish it here. Don't use it for anything obscene and please don't claim it as your own, otherwise you are free to do with it what you will.

I posted this without the link yesterday. Sorry. now I can't get 4 shared to work so I have posted the .png file here. Just click on the picture to enlarge it, right click to save as to your computer

Merging elements

2010-09-13T20:44:00.000+01:00

Here I merged two images. I think part of the background came from FairyGoodmother stock at DeviantArt? The foreground is original but I had to stretch the canvas, so cloned some of the grass and daisies, adding a few clovers and buttercups. I still haven't grasped the refine edge tool in Photoshop 5 so still use a pen to extract images. One of these days I will learn how all these marvellous tools actually work :-) The model is my precious little grandson.

And here he is looking totally cheesed off with his Dad's taste in TV programmes

He cheered up when Mummy took him to the playground. It's not everyone who is lucky enough to have one of Lorie Davidson's mice to join them on the roundabout. I can't remember who designed the cute car in the background. Thanks and sorry whoever you are.

Removing unwanted elements in images

2010-09-13T12:58:00.001+01:00

I've been on holiday and haven't had a chance to post anything. Had frustratingly low speeds trying to connect from my laptop whilst travelling, but I have been busy. I quite enjoy extracting images, though I must say this one was a challenge. The original photo is at DeviantArt by YellowpumpkinI rather liked the photo of arches in Leamington Spa, but the car and van spoiled it. I also like the softness of sepia so made some alterations.

There has to be an easy way of extracting complicated images. Easy peasy if the background is white and the foreground is dark, but when the car is behind a fence.......well if anyone knows an easy way, please pass on any tips. I bodged this in places and just decided to grow some plants instead of discarding my efforts.
Here is the same image with a gradient overlay set on linear burn.

Transported to Wonderland, and other images

2010-09-02T15:01:00.002+01:00

I love Alice in Wonderland. I also love fantasy, so it's not surprising that I fell in love with Marta Van Eck's Welcome to Wonderland kit which is available at Shabby Pickle designs You can click on the link to take a look at the kit. I created the doll myself. If you would like to use the doll in any projects, just give me a shout and I'll put it on here as a freebie.

Here is another Alice in Wonderland creation. I coloured a drawing of Alice. Most of the elements used are from Marta Van Eck's Attic kit. This is a kit I keep coming back to because it is crammed with interesting elements. The kit can be found here: Shabby Pickle designs

This one was for a digital challenge. If my memory serves me, the brollies were a freebie from Granny Art.

This one was for a digital challenge at Digital Whispers. Alice and the water rat were from a drawing I colourized.

Not quite Alice in Wonderland perhaps, but I had fun with a photo of my grandson wearing a daft pair of sunglasses. This made me think of Biggles, so I sent him on a flight. I've used elements from Marta Van Eck's Steampunk kit. One of the helmets is from her Attic kit. I cannot remember where I found the leather jacket. I think the fly is from Mom4three designs

Art is not always pretty

2010-08-25T08:45:00.002+01:00

This one started off as a tutorial posted by Kimmie on Digital Whispers. The images used did not particularly inspire me, but I'm so glad that I gave it a go. I really despair of some tutorials and appreciate that it is not easy to know how much participants understand. This is one of those tutorials which did not assume too much, and instructions were very clear. Here is the link to the tutorial I have finally learned how to group layers. Yes I know these are the basics of Photoshop, but somehow in my usual impatience, I just went ahead and muddled through. I've also learned that I was underusing the wonderful lassoo tool. I have such a love/hate relationship with Photoshop. I don't care what anyone says, it is not user friendly at all! After completing the tutorial I just had to alter it. I appreciate that this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I think art is about stretching boundaries which are not always pretty. I cannot abide political correctness or the opression of human beings. Anyway enough ramblings. Here's the results of the dark and eerie tutorial.

Barbara Walters, of 20/20, did a story on gender roles in Kabul , Afghanistan , several years before the Afghan conflict. She noted that women customarily walked five paces behind their husbands. She recently returned to Kabul and observed that women still walk behind their husbands. Despite the overthrow of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women now seem to, and are happy to, maintain the old custom. Ms. Walters approached one of the Afghani women and asked, "Why do you now seem happy with an old custom that you once tried so desperately to change?"

The woman looked Ms. Walters straight in the eyes, and without hesitation said, "Land Mines."

A Tutorial Challenge at Digital Whispers

2010-08-21T19:03:00.002+01:00

This was a tough one that I just could not follow in places. I seem to have such a convoluted way of working. I'm sure it would be easier to create folders when I'm working with multiple layers, and also to group them. I just never do. I don't use layer masks either. I've a lot to learn.

Here is the tutorial Credits for the brushes etc I used can be found there. Background paper was (I think) from Nicerane designs. Shrine was from Gypsy. The beautiful model is my daugher. She doesn't usually have such wacky hairstyles ;-)

Still on the egg challenge

2010-08-19T21:31:00.000+01:00

This is the same challenge with a different pic. Kimmie's blog
I had merged two pics of a rooster today, having spent ages hand painting details. Stupid photoshop hung up on me when I was trying to save a .png file. This keeps happening with Windows 7 I really don't like Windows 7 at all. Seems to be full of bugs. Anyway computer crashed and I had not saved a PSD file. Grrr these things are sent to try us. The hen is from a file I had called WLOP kit. Does anyone know who this is? I'm getting better at filing and saving names of designers but my early files are a complete mess. Here is what I came up with for my second egg challenge:

Egg Digital Challenge

2010-08-18T22:24:00.000+01:00

This was more fun than I thought it was going to be. I just wasn't sure what to do with an egg really.
I got a little carried away....
Kimmie is hosting an egg challenge. Kimmie's blog
The queen was a freebie from Rian and most of the other elements are from various Marta Van Eck kits.

Windows Challenge at Digital Whispers

2010-08-18T07:14:00.000+01:00

I think I'm going to move my bed into the Digital Whispers room lol I just love this group and all the inspired people who take part in the challenges there. This is the image we were provided with.

I found another image at DeviantArt http://vapui.deviantart.com/art/Six-doors-167050541 which I thought was a painting, but in fact it is a photograph. By combining the images, this is what I came up with. I'm quite happy with the results.

2010-08-16T22:07:00.000+01:00

I made this for a challenge at Digital Whispers. An image of a woman was provided which I distorted for the doll. Background paper is by Hollie Wood - Theatre of Dreams kit. Cat and cage from Marta Van Eck's Alice in Wonderland kit.

Eyes challenge

2010-08-13T23:45:00.000+01:00

This challenge involved creating something with a vintage photo of eyes. This was fun but took me ages to do.
Eyes by e-vinte, nose by spookychild@deviantArt. Body was created by Aisne. Sorry I chopped of her head :-) I used smoke brushes for the steam. Thanks Falln stock@DeviantArt. Girl and mouse were from Lori Davidson kits. Background Marta VanEck's kitchen kit. Hat was designed by me. Hat decoration is from Marta VanEck's steampunk kit. Hope that is everyone credited.
You can see the challenge and enter it here: http://digital-whisper.blogspot.com/2010/08/digital-whisper-challenge-11-eyes.html

Digital Whispers Golden Globe Challenge

2010-08-10T20:02:00.001+01:00

I decided to make two images from the golden ball image provided. This was fun.

I do like this model. Found him at Skydancer over at DeviantArt

Here is the other image I created with the same gold ball image

Faeries were altered by me but originally from a Blushbutter kit.
Bakcground is from a kit called Fishing For Love - Magical Reality Designs. Pumpkin carriage was from Miriam at DeviantArt. I used various brushes - water and sparkles, and cannot remember name of the creator of these. Will add the name when I can locate her.

I've been a busy bee today. Inspired by some really funky designs by artists at Digital Whispers, I started messing around with a picture of Marie Antoinette I purchased some time ago at Upi and got quite carried away.

I've used bits and pieces from all over the place here. Background was from an Artellagram kit. Boat was from a Phantom of the Opera kit. Mermaid tail from GrannyArt, Sandwich from Efie's blog. Sailor ornament from Kubivet....oh and the arms from Rian.

Digital Whispers Monthly Challenge - Moon and clouds

2010-08-09T21:09:00.002+01:00

I'm so behind with everything. Computer keeps screwing up and I have to install the drivers every time I fire up the computer now. I'm not liking Windows 7 much at all. I am however liking all the challenges at Digital Whispers. I just wish there were more hours in a day. This challenge was to create an image from a photo of the moon and clouds. Here are the pictures I used:

The one on the left is my own. The one in the background was the image provided. The other two were artists from DeviantArt (I love that website)
Will add the names later.

Here is what I came up with:

Digital Whispers challenge - Girl in a basket

2010-08-04T21:45:00.000+01:00

This was fun to do. We were given an image of a little vintage girl in a basket. I used various elements from various kits. Thanks again to Efie and Granny Art for the use of their elements

dominoes challenge at Digital Whispers

2010-07-30T12:30:00.001+01:00

Here's another challenge I participated in at Digital Whispers. A picture of dominoes was provided for this challenge. I just can't seem to leave the warp tool alone and used it extensively for this image.
The background was from Rian, furniture from Marta Van Eck. I think it was the Alice in Wonderland kit? Drawings were collected and coloured by me.

Paradise challenge July 2010

2010-07-29T14:55:00.000+01:00

The challenge this week at Digital Whispers was to produce an image from a photo provided of waterfalls. I don't think everyone's idea of paradise would be to go swimming with a water rat, but they are really cute. I sometimes catch a glimpse of them on the English canals.
Here is the image I created.

This is the image I used. I also used a plugin filter to create the water ripples.

I also entered another Digital Whispers Dark challenge. This was a difficult one. We had to try to get the subject's hair to merge with the tree roots. Both images were provided.

The robot which gives answers to questions that politicians won't

2010-07-16T13:10:00.000+01:00

My creativity has dried up. My computer's aren't behaving, and the USB plug to my Wacom Tablet is bent and only offering me sporadic connection. I have to keep the old grey brain cells semi-alive, so I've been keeping up to date with politics. My MP is not the only one who will be relieved when I get back to digital art again :-)))

Meanwhile I found this amusing robot. Ask it a question and it provides an answer, which will hopefully make you laugh as much as it did me. Let me know what you think. Would love to know what you think of my new pet?

Digital Whispers Challenge - the Bridge

2010-06-17T16:24:00.000+01:00

I've had terrible problems getting logged into Ning groups for days now. Finally managed to log in and complete the challenge for this week, which was to create an image from a photo of a bridge. I still haven't been struck with much inspiration but had a go nonetheless.

Background paper was from Land of Nod kit and I'm afraid I accidentally deleted the TOU and don't know who designed the kit. Book element was Marta VanEck Alice in Wonderland kit.

Digital Whispers Challenge - Melting

2010-06-07T12:36:00.000+01:00

This week's challenge was 'melting' I'm not feeling very inspired this week and this is the best I could come up with. It needs a lot of improvement.

The photo is from my own collection of photos of the Ice Hotel in Sweden. Brushes used are water ones (sorry I cannot remember who the designer is) and rain brushes from Digea.

This is the original photo I used for the challenge

Digital whispers grafitti challenge

2010-06-07T12:29:00.000+01:00

This week's challenge was to create something with graffiti.
I used the image provided to adorn the house with graffiti. House is by Granny Art. Grass brushes by Bslivia. Easel by Effie. Maid and canvass from the web. Banksy images. The two little scamps who have been busy painting graffiti are my grandchildren.

Download Fridays

2010-06-07T12:23:00.000+01:00

The challenge last week was to create an image with the photo of the vintage girl. I used a variety if images for this collage, mainly from Artellagram.

A Digital Challenge in movement

2010-05-24T15:01:00.002+01:00

Digital Whispers has a 50th challenge this week. The theme is movement. A photo of a tree was provided which you can see in the images I used. I had so much fun with this, I made two.

Thanks to Darth Murda for an image I was captivated by and also to CasheeFoo for the use of the bokeh rain image. Background frame and small steps are from a Lori Davison kit.

used for the challenge.

Art Creations Friday digital art challenge

2010-05-20T14:59:00.000+01:00

The challenge at http://artcreationsfriday.blogspot.com/ was to use a provided picture of the girl in the image here, (which I tinted) to create an image.
Here's what I came up with. Credits to Marta Van Eck for the background. I think it is from her kitchen kit.
The wonderful Effie (see link on my blog ) for lamp, rug, picture. A Russian designer whose name I cannot write, for the rocking horse, and to GrannyArt for the piano.

Music stand and music sheet ...ummm don't know but please let me know if it is yours.

Challenge at Digital Whispers

2010-05-20T13:01:00.002+01:00

This week at Digital Whispers,http://digitalwhisper.ning.com the challenge was to create an image using a scroll. The theme was : Ancient
Images were from Deviant Art.
Thanks to B4ldo for the Hindu statue photo and Gilad for the egret photo.

Digital Art Challenge at Artcreationsfriday blogspot

2010-05-10T19:55:00.000+01:00

I'm struggling with lack of creativity at the moment. So disgruntled and angry about the state of British politics that I think it is colouring everything I do. I'm not happy with anything I'm producing.

There's a challenge over at : http://artcreationsfriday.blogspot.com/ The challenge was to create something from a photo of 2 vintage children which was provided. I love working with vintage images normally but found myself unable to warm to the children in the photo. They look so arrogant-haughty. Maybe they were the victims of hitler's nazi youth movement? Who knows? Here's what I came up with. Definitely not one of my better efforts.

Digital Whispers Challenge - Gustav Klimt

2010-05-10T18:27:00.001+01:00

http://digitalwhisper.ning.com
There is another interesting challenge this week over at Digital Whispers. The theme is Gustav Klimt. Here is the image we were given to work with

I do like Gustav Klimts designs. Especially the ones where he uses gold.

Here's what I did with it. Thanks to Effie for the crown and Lori Davidson for the frame.

Love does not hurt

2010-04-12T17:43:00.000+01:00

The theme at Digital Whispers this week is: Love Does Not Hurt, which is the slogan of a website dedicated to helping people who have been abused. I shan't be flavour of the month with a lot of people for stating that so much abuse happens in the name of love and religion. My distaste for organized religion is probably obvious in this picture.
The ostrich head was found at: worth1000.com. Stained glass photos, bonfire photos etc courtesy of my daughter. Clouds by Caryl Park and last week's cloud's photo provided for the peace challenge.

Art on The Dark Side - Theme: Eerie Easter

2010-04-12T07:48:00.000+01:00

These digital art challenges are so much fun. What a pity there aren't more hours in a day. I found a fun challenge over at Art on the Dark side blog. The hardest part of this challenge was to try to make this adorable dog look nasty lol I don't know who the photo belongs to. It was sent to me as a digital Easter card last year. The symbol was from a free kit which I found on Efie's blogsite (link is on websites I like to visit) The bat was from an illustration which I think I found on Fairy Goodmother's website. I really must get better at remembering where I get my files from. Slap on the wrist to me for being so forgetful and disorganized.

Digital Whispers Art Challenge- peace theme

2010-04-08T15:31:00.001+01:00

So busy decorating but I had to take time out to enter the Digital Whispers challenge this week. The theme is peace. The text may be hard to read. I wrote: There are many mansions of peace in the eyes of our hearts.

This is the photo I used to create the picture. It is from my own collection. The buddah and dove were extracted from vintage images. Unfortunately I cannot recall where I downloaded them. If anyone knows, please let me know and I can then give credits.

This is the photo I used

Here is the other picture. The poem was written by a friend of mine and the background paper was from an Autumn kit by Lumikscrap. Link to the blog is on websites I like to visit.

Digital Whispers Art Challenge

2010-03-31T17:28:00.001+01:00

The link to Digital Whispers can be found on my blog. The challenge this week was to create something which invokes 'soft'. Here is my response to the challenge. The bird was painted by me. The vintage image coloured by me. The original can be found in my links section under wonderful vintage images.
I will be back with freebies soon.

Artcreations Friday

2010-03-30T19:10:00.000+01:00

There a fun challenge over at http://artcreationsfriday.blogspot.com/ I wasn't aware of this blog before and just stumbled upon it by clicking on links of other blogs I was visiting.
Here is my effort for the challenge.

The challenge involved using the background paper provided, In this case, it was a lovely example of vinyl painted with alcohol inks. Very rich in texture and lovely to work with.
I used a photo of my own and also a wonderful castle photo from Fairiegoodmother. You can find links here on websites I like to visit.

The water pump is courtesy of Granny Art. Wonderful woman who shares her wonderful creations so freely with us. I cut the woman out from a vintage picture I had in my collection. I've no idea where it came from unfortunately.

Time flies

2010-03-29T12:12:00.000+01:00

Where has the time gone? I know it is ages since I posted any freebies. I will be back soon with some. Meanwhile, why not pop over to In the Light of the Moon blogspot. You could win yourself a beautiful hand made pendant, just for leaving a comment on her blog. See link under places I like to visit.

It's so lovely to see all the daffodils out at last. Here's a picture I made for a digital art challenge on the theme of Spring.

Granny Found my gluegun - alpha freebie

2010-03-03T13:06:00.000Z

I have an alpha for you today. I've called it Granny found my glue gun, because it looks to me as if it was written in glue. I will be posting the lower case part soon, with punctuation marks, numbers and a few doodles. This is a commercial use freebie but not for sale in any form. Hope you like it. It is always nice to hear from you.
This is a 300 dpi transparent .png file

Click on this text to download the file

QP Roses freebie

2010-02-26T12:25:00.002Z

Here is a QP for you, but I want to show you a layout I made with a kit I think is just wonderful. It's by Joelle at Designs2 create: http:design2create.blogspot.com The bunnies are from Lorie Davidson's bouncing bunnies kit. Little bits and pieces from elsewhere. My filing system is chaotic and I don't know who some of the designers are in some of my older files. If you spot anything that's yours, then please let me know and I will give credits.
My grandson loves his little trampoline and bounces like crazy on it.

This QP freebie was not made in 5 mins I can tell you. I painted the roses and then made background paper etc. Thanks to GrannyArt for the furniture. She is such a talented and generous designer.
This is for personal use only.

Click on this text to download the QP freebie

Candelabra PU use freebie element

2010-02-25T14:05:00.001Z

Thanks to all of you who bother to stop by and say thanks. It really does make a difference. I know that many have stopped sharing because of the grab and run mentality. I've been working on elements for teddy kit's room. Can't decide whether he will live in a rustic room or a grand one. What do you think? Anyway here's a candelabra. Do let me see what you make with it. It is for PU use only and not for commercial use.
Here is the link to download the freebie

Bird Freebie

2010-02-22T13:15:00.000Z

Click here to download bird file
I had a request for a bird without the cage. I happened to find a partially worked file of the bird I thought I had lost. Re-worked the wing, and here it is. Please let me see what you make with this.

2010-02-18T20:22:00.000Z

No freebie today. I'm posting a layout I did of my Grandson. I used a kit called Garden in the Sky by Thalaris.
The magnifying glass was from another website and I cannot remember where. If you recognize it, please let me know so that I can give credits.

http://thaliris.canalblog.com/