A new year, a new month, a brand new showcase!
It is that time of week where I showcase other artists'
work (whether it be stamps, cards or otherwise), a blog post offering a great technique, or
I might even just pick a whole blog to showcase. If you are new to my blog you can find out why I created the showcase HERE.
My top picks for this week include...
Card Choice
Linda has a real gift
for colouring and putting cards together.
She loves to sit and just colour and shade and bring her images to life,
often in front of the television set.
This is something else we have in common because that is where I tend to
do my colouring as well. While going
through some of Linda’s archives, I came across this gem from her January 13
post from last year entitled, “Cuddle Buttons”.
Even the name of the post is adorable!
This is such a beautiful card.
I love the use of buttons, the colours and the diecut frame. The image she used is called 'Snuggle Buddies' and I just fell in love
with it. Her attention to detail and the
realistic nature of the fur is just incredible.
This image took me way back in time to a memory of my very first
kitten. My parents and I were vacationing
in Nova Scotia, my mom’s birth
province. We still have many relatives
there and at the time, we were visiting with an aunt and uncle. If I remember correctly I must have been
around eight at the time. Anyways, my
aunt and uncle lived on a farm in Cape
Jack and had a giant German
shepherd. Suddenly you see this little
ball of white fur come tumbling across the kitchen floor sliding to a stop in
front of the dog’s looming mouth. Eyes
wide, I was sure he was going to eat her but no, he just let her play around
him and finally settle in next to him to snuggle. The kitten and her siblings were long haired
angora cats that my Aunt and Uncle’s daughter had brought to the farm on a
visit. They were about to become barn
cats and their lives would have been greatly reduced as a result. So, with ample pleading and sucking up to my
dad—and that was just from my mother—he had no chance when I joined in but to relent
to our wishes. The white ball of fur
became known as Muffin and came to Ontario
to live as the newest member of our family.
Now, I shared the above card because of the memory it invoked in me. This second card I’m showcasing is just out of pure awe at
Linda’s colouring talents. It is from her November 1, 2012 post, "Its Beginning To Look Like Christmas". If I hadn't taken
the time to follow the link to Squigglefly to see that the Santa she used in this
card had started out as black and white, I would have sworn that she had used a
coloured graphic. That is serious talent! I will definitely be
heading to Linda’s site often for inspiration on how to colour my own work.
I encourage you to pay Linda a visit. Whether it is for inspiration on card design
or just colouring in general, it will certainly be worth the time you spend
there (clicking on the blog name will take you straight to her
blog).
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Free Digital Stamp Artist Choice
This incredible digi was designed by
MARY ELLEN
Her blog is called
I would be very surprised if you have not already been to Mary Ellen's Dearie Dolls blog. She started her blog in April and I have been following along every step of the way. Almost every day of the week she offers the most incredible digi designs in both black & white and in colour. The above image is the colour version of her creation called, "Brrrrr". It was truly very difficult just choosing one design to highlight. It would be very easy to put a Dearie Doll image in every single showcase. They are all just so darling! The one I finally decided on was this winter image. I laughed out loud when I first set my eyes on him. The thought of a snowman who was cold was just too funny. That particular snowman must live in Sudbury although I'm sure Mary Ellen herself has never heard of the location! You can be guaranteed that you will definitely see more of Mary Ellen's work here in the future. One can never tire of the adorable Dearie Dolls (clicking on the blog name will take you straight to her
blog). I'm sorry that I could not provide a direct link to this specific image. There were connection problems at the time that I went looking. If you yourself encounter any problems when trying to visit her blog, I would encourage you to be persistent. You'll be happy you did once you see everything she has to offer.
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Finally, that brings me to the...
This is a special category highlighting
a stamp for sale by another artist.
This week that honour goes to...
These cute stamp sets were created by
TRINA CLARK
Her store is called
The colour version of the set is available for sale HERE
The black and white version of the set is available for sale HERE
If you haven't figured it out by now, I just love snow people. There is just something about the magic of Frosty the Snowman that has stuck with me since I was a child. I used to envision whole villages of snow people just going about their day to day business in their little snow houses and stores. Sometimes I still do! Snowmen and woman adorn our home during the winter months. I even have a nativity scene made completely from snow people. However, our cat Marigold stole baby snowman Jesus a couple of years ago and we've yet to find him. I hope he turns up because I sure there might be some bad Karma wrapped up in that somewhere for my furbaby. Anyways, apparently that love has translated into the digi world as well. I especially like how Trina combines the snow people with the idea of love and that she makes this kit versatile. The hearts, bows, birdies and cottage can all be used outside of the winter season. If you love snow people too then this is the perfect time to grab these sets as they are currently on sale at 75% off. Additionally, Trina has generous terms of use. Commercial use applies to any of her digis as long as you credit her for the creations. I'd say that was more than fair for being able to sell the products you make with her designs. Please find some time and visit Digi Scrap Kits. Trina has over 1000 products for sale just in her name
alone. She also features other designers
too. So whatever you could possibly be
looking for, odds are that DigiScrap kits has it (clicking on the blog name will take you straight to her
blog).
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Well, the first Saturday Showcase of the new year is complete. Thanks
to all these wonderful artists for agreeing to allow me to showcase
their work on my blog. I'm sure I'll be coming back to them time and again. Though you never know, I may be contacting YOU next to
showcase something incredible you've created.
Until next time,
Note:
*Thanks to Nikki from Limited Runs Stamps for creating my Saturday Showcase badge.
