Watercoloured Backgrounds

Here are a selection of cards I created for Practical Publishing a while ago that demonstrated techniques that could be used to watercolour backgrounds for cards. I used salt, over white heat embossing, wet-on-wet technique, using embossing folders, with stencils (lifting colour) and over the top of texture paste.

 The green one that was done using an embossing folder is actually ombre in effect (very subtle) but accomplished by laying progressively darker shades of green down the embossing folder before closing it to run through the diecutting machine.

I think my fave is the one at the top where I added salt to the multicoloured panel while the paint was still wet. Lovely effect.

Hope you enjoy these.

Bye for now.

Love,
Janelle

Get Creative Challenges #34

Hi there! I'm posting a card that is part of this fortnight's Get Creative Challenge.

Ch. #34 - St. Patrick's - Use Green

This challenge is sponsored by:

I was trying for a funny St Patrick's card, so chose the flamingos and gold pot digistamps, coloured them with Copic markers, then completed the card with some computer generated sentiments (both inside and on the front of the card). The rainbow was hand drawn onto the background, coloured with Copics and highlighted with some clear Wink of Stella. I used a green card base to further match the theme.

                            The front:

                             The inside of the card:

Pop on over to the blog and see what the other design team members have created. If you feel like it, create a card of your own and add it to the InLinx link at the end of the challenge details.

Can't wait to see what's next!

Bye for now,

Love,

Janelle

I'm now on two more Design Teams!

I hope I don't get into trouble for telling you this yet, but, I've been asked to be on the design team for two internet card challenges. I'm so excited!!!

They are both the brainchildren of Angie Addison. from Florida, USA. The first one is Get Creative Challenges and the other is Simply Create Too Challenges.  I'll be submitting cards for them real soon - can hardly wait!!!

I have also started a Facebook page. I'm a bit of a techno-dino, when it comes to things like that, but I need it for my crafting, so needs must....... (I think that's how it goes.) I will be using it mostly for cards etc. I hope those who have asked to be my friend don't get too disappointed with what I post on it. :)

Speaking of dinosaurs, I've ordered a ring with a Dinogem in it. In case you don't know, Dinogems are agatized dinosaur bones and sometimes called "gembone". The stone for my ring is said to be from a T Rex. How cool is that???! I'll post a photo when it comes.

Lastly I'm posting some cards I made for Practical Publishing a while back and hope you like them. They used foiling techniques from heat foiling, using glues, stamping, double-sided tape, gilding flakes and gold leaf.

The "Hello" card uses what I've called a faux velvet technique. IRL the texture on the card looks like jacquard velvet (the red/brown bits). This is because I applied gilding flakes through a stencil (onto a panel of double-sided adhesive sheet, then rubbed in some Distress Glitter once the stencil was removed. Because the glitter flakes are rather large, they don't lie flat and you see a nap, like in real velvet. 

I'd seen it with microbeads added but not the Distress Glitter, and I really love the effect that produced. Another good thing also, the glitter doesn't continue to brush off with this type. No more fairyland funhouse here.  :)

Anyway, bye for now.

Love,

Janelle

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! With love and best wishes to all.

I must share the card I made for my husband for today.

Last week I received in the mail an SEI Monsterville kit that has a number of diecut monster shapes and appendages, as well as a sheet of stickers for eyes, mouths, noses etc. As soon as I saw it, I knew what this year's card was going to look like.

I watercoloured and Glimmer Misted the heck out of a piece of watercolour paper, before attaching the monster shapes using foam squares. I die cut a vellum speech bubble, as well as the sentiments and hearts. (The silver holographic was made using my brand new Mini Minc and some Heidi Swapp Holographic Reactive Foil, along with a piece of toner sheet.) The cutting dies were from Kaisercraft, Lawn Fawn, HOTP and My Favorite Things. 

To finish the card I draw some faux stitching around the speech bubble with my white Sigma pen and applied some Glossy Accents to the "U".

As soon as I saw this kit I saw endless opportunities for boy birthday cards, so be prepared to see some more of these throughout the year. I have numerous nephews and great nephews to create for. I should be having a monster of a time this year. Haw haw haw!  : )

I'm going to enter this card into the following challenges.

Time Out Challenge #49

Simply Create Too (CH. #102- Love or Valentine's)

The 30 Day Coloring Challenge

The Friday Mashup

Anyway, have a lovely day and see you soon,

Love,
Janelle

RIP My eCraft

No, I didn't fall off the edge of the world. I've just been caught up in the mechanisms of life (esp. Christmas and summer holidays.)

This post is to commemorate the role my eCraft has had in my crafting life, but which is now sorely reduced. 

Over the holidays, my computer died again and I had to give it the jolt of life, thus the need to reload all programs. Welcome a new version of Windows 10 (that caused it to die in the first place). Goodbye to the eCraft program that allowed me to create designs (on my computer) and cut them out using the electronic cutter. This was the feature that most attracted me to the eCraft in the first place, four long years ago. This was before any other electronic cutter gave you this option. (I think?) Now I will only be able to use it with the image cartridges (which are great and varied), but all of my SVG files (self-created and those bought) are useless, unless I splash out and buy a ScanNCut2, that can do all of that and more. Any excuse!!!  :o)

I'm including the email I received from Craftwell concerning this issue. I personally don't think it's good enough, as since they are still selling accessories etc for the eCraft, they should still be supporting it technically. There's too much redundancy of products in industry these days.

Hello Janelle,

Thank you for contacting Craftwell Customer Support

We are sorry to inform you that the eCraft program only works on Windows 7 and previous versions. Updating your windows to Windows 10 prevents you from using the program.  If you have any older computers we suggest you use one in order for it to work.  Ever since we stop manufacturing the eCraft the program ceased updates.  

Craftwell Customer Support

On Sun, Jan 17, 2016 at 4:05 AM, Janelle Graham <adashofflash@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi,

Recently my computer crashed and now I have to reload all of my programs. The thing is that I can't download the operating program for my eCraft. It keeps coming up with an error message. I have upgraded my computer to Windows 10 and am wondering if this is preventing it from proceeding. How can I get around this problem, as this is an important feature that I regularly use and I have a whole heap of designs that I've created or bought, and I don't want them to be wasted. 

If I can only use the cards from now on, that will greatly diminish my satisfaction with this machine. Even though you no longer manufacture the eCraft (don't know why as it's a wonderful operating system) I can see this problem occurring more often, as people upgrade their computers.

Please help me.

Cheers,

Janelle Graham

To show you that my life has been quite good since my last post, I'm including some photos. One is a birthday card I made for my sister (maybe I shouldn't have used the flowers - a bit OTT), a few are from our holiday at Rainbow Beach (on the Sunshine Coast, QLD), and one is my son, Alex and my MIL, from when he performed in his school drama club's performance of "The Fantastic Mr(s) Fox" where he played Mr Weasel (I made his ears and we bought his costume for $6 at the Red Cross Charity shop.)

Bye for now.

Love,

Janelle

Update on J****

I just wanted to let you know that J**** (the boy I hit with my car) is fine and went to school on Monday, full of the story of how he was hit by a car and survived. He only has some minor cuts and scrapes.

My windscreen has been replaced and I take my car in for a quote tomorrow. I'm back driving, but still a little jittery; especially when I drive through the section of road where the accident happened.

As I thought, the story of how a boy from school was hit by a car while jaywalking is all over the school, but only a few actually know I was the "culprit".  :)

Anyway, bye for now. I'll be back soon with some more cards.

Love,
Janelle   :)

OMG! I thought I killed a kid yesterday!

Yesterday was both the worst day of my life as well as the luckiest! 

I was driving to pick up my son, Alex, from school, when a Grade 12 student ran out from between a line of stalled traffic - right in front of me! I slammed on my brakes, but wasn't able to stop in time before I hit him with my car. He hit the front passenger side of the car before being bounced up into the windscreen. He then bounced off onto the road in front of me. By this time the car was stopped, so I put it into Park and got out and ran to the boy. He was up on his feet and standing there, holding his head, and said to me, "Am I hurt?"

I remember thinking to myself "Thank God he's not dead", but at the same time I'm thinking, "Of course you're hurt, you bloody idiot, you've just been hit by my car!" But I told him he was hurt and he had to stay still while I phoned the ambulance. He then tried to move away, saying, "No I'm alright. I've got to go." Talk about a "hit and run" incident. (Please don't think I'm being flippant - it's just a reaction to the fact that he didn't appear to be seriously injured and, even now, more than 12 hours later, I feel like crying and still have the shakes.)

Next I know people have come from everywhere to take the boy to safety in one of the shops across from where he was hit, another man came and phoned the police and ambulance for me, another helped me move my car to a safer park, someone else gave me a cup of lovely cold water and found a seat for me to sit in, some girls from the school phoned the school to tell them what had happened, someone else had phoned the boy's mother, one of the girls from the barber shop came out with a wad of toilet paper for me to wipe my tears (because she didn't have any tissues) and then the ambos came and started looking after the boy. I'm blown away by the selfless actions of so many. They were all wonderful.

Next came along the principal and one of the deputies from the boy's school. (Did I mention it is also the school where Alex goes to school and where I taught for many years before I left to have Alex?) The principal asked the deputy if he knew who belonged to the car, and I told him it was mine. His eyes just about popped out of his head. I wonder why he didn't guess just from looking at me, from my red face, swollen eyes and tears streaming down my face?

Anyway, the police came next and were also the most lovely men possible. After getting my statement and talking to the witnesses, they told me that there's nothing that I could have done to prevent the accident and they wouldn't be charging me with anything. The paramedic in charge then came to tell me that they were taking the boy to hospital to be checked out, but as far as they could see he only had minor abrasions and bruising. (I hope they didn't find anything more serious once they did the xrays etc.)

After everyone left and I was left waiting for my husband to come and get me (Mind you, Alex was still at the school waiting for me to pick him up) and I finally went to have a look at the damage to the car (I hadn't paid any attention to it before - I had been more concerned with the damage to the boy), the enormity of the situation finally hit me and I really started crying. Once again some ladies from the hairdressing salon came to my rescue and took me inside, gave me some more water and made me wait with them until Darryl arrived.

I won't go into all of the rigmarole that followed concerning moving the car to a safer place, phoning the insurance company and the windscreen repairer etc. Suffice to say, we went to pick up Alex who had been cared for by the deputy (even to the extent that when we arrived they were on the hunt for something for Alex to snack on!) and then went home.

As I said it was the worst day (I can't stop feeling guilty for hurting someone, even though it was an accident) as well as the luckiest day. Lucky that he wasn't hurt too seriously (he so easily could have died), but also lucky to realise that there are so many lovely people in the world ready and willing to help in times of difficulty, and that they work and live in my area. How lucky is that???

Anyway, bye for now.

All of my love.

Janelle  :)

P.S. I thought about showing you a photo of my damaged car, but thought it was just a little gratuitous, but also luckily for me, there's really not that much damage to see. Just the smashed windscreen and some damage to the bonnet.

PPS. This is gratuitous, but I totally freaked out when I found tufts of hair stuck in the smashed windscreen. It still makes me feel sick to think of it.