New at Cards by Carol
Popping in to post the December CC Kit that I have been working on all month (in between Wedding projects!) – while it is still December in some part of the world 
This completes a full year of kits! All of them are still available for a while although at some point I may have to do some housekeeping on my blog media files.
The wedding is in a few days now. Next week is going to be exciting with friends and family arriving from different parts of the world. Be back when I have recovered!
Well! I was like a little child when I got an email from Gail saying congratulations for being runner up in the Mind Wide Open challenge. It’s so nice to win something, isn’t it? Not that I have much practice. I’m not one of these people who seem to win every draw and whose number always seems to be picked in those Random Generator thingys. So I am ridiculously pleased today!
And I get to choose a Collage Sheet from the lovely Shabby Cottage Studio as my prize. Their collage sheets are printed with a toner based ink which lends itself to image transfer techniques. My current printer is an inkjet so I can’t print images for myself for this technique. I am slowly gathering supplies to try out some big new projects incorporating image transfers for after my son’s wedding in early January so this will be a welcome addition to my stash.
Now all I have to do is recreate the “Dance Lightly” digital folder that I deleted with all my 300 dpi psd and png files so that I can print my picture at 8×10″ and frame it for my home!
I also want to have it ready in time to go into my etsy store for its Grand Opening 
With all the ongoing prep for the wedding, I have no goodies to share today although I am working on the Dec CC. I am hoping to complete it and post before the end of the month because that will be a full year of kits accomplished!
But I do have this to share
Check these out…
These are all done with Shape Collage.com
This is a very cool online app that makes collages from any url. (With some odd exceptions - with some Flickr pages I tried, I got an error message saying no photos were found, can’t figure out why…) You can choose basic shapes or outlines although some make more effective collages than others. And you can use text!
If you download the free desktop application, you can use any of your folders of images for your collages and save them to your computer. And you can use other shapes as well. The files are large enough to be of printable quality. I did this “J” with the downloaded programme and the original filesize is 2.52 MB…
You can buy a Pro version of the software which enables you to save your collages as psds for further play.
And if your collage has 300 photos in it, the psd will apparently have 300 layers!
You’ll find a YouTube video HERE with more info.
Have fun!
The beginning of this year saw the achievement for me of my goal to start a blog. Juno’s Place.
The middle of the year saw the beginning of my printables blog, Cards by Carol
At the moment I am working towards the third of my goals, my own little shoppe.
Juno’s Digital Art at Etsy.
An elegant yet friendly little place with downloadable art of various kinds, I am thinking.
Choice and original yet accessible.
Well, a girl can dream.
And without the dreaming would never come the doing, right?
What’s all this got to do with you, you may ask?
A freebie!
That’s what…
From the “Journal des Dames et des Modes” published in Paris (from 1797 onwards) comes these exquisite historical fashion plates of the early nineteen hundreds. I’ve been working on making them into printable collage sheets that give excellent printed quality while still retaining the authentic ambience. I designed the motifs on the side in the same mode to enhance the plates and to bring them to ATC size, 2.5 x 3.5″.
Each collage sheet is printable on A4 or Letter size paper. Each will have 8 plates and the ninth will be a freebie, as a little gift to you. When the downloadable collage sheets are ready for sale in my Etsy shoppe, they will come with printing pointers.
In the meantime, if anyone would like these pointers, feel free to email me
My first entry for a competition!
Aren’t “Firsts” exciting?
This is my first ever attempt at an art challenge where the entries are actually voted on and prizes are given…
Mind Wide Open is the place and I worked on this piece for DAYS.
This is what you were given to start with:
…and you can do anything you like with the image.
As you can see, I extracted the main elements so that I could combine them in my own way. Cloning around the dancer was interesting, all that tulle! And the clock behind the bird had to be totally constructed so that it could be used as an image in its own right.
The advanced Photoshop classes that I have been taking at Creative Techs were put into full use! I had fun putting lots of new tips and techniques into practice in what is the most technically challenging piece I have ever attempted.
I was very pleased when I had the idea about making the dancer, the main focus, into a tag which could be layered and made to stand out.
I found the perfect quote that I felt expressed something about the dancer and also tied all the elements of the montage together.
I even found the perfect pearl to tremble at the tip of the leaf…
Did I mention that I worked on this for DAYS?
Then, when I was at last satisfied with it -
I. DELETED. ALL .MY. WORK!
All my Photoshop 300 dpi files that I would have used to print out and frame this piece!
Not only did I delete them -
I EMPTIED THE RECYCLE BIN!
Oh yes.
So efficient.
Tidying up my desktop, you see.
Last thing at night.
So all I have left is the two images I emailed to Gail to enter the competition.
Oh the pain!
This is the version that Gail put up on the blog at Mind Wide Open so if you felt like popping over to have a look, and maybe even vote for me, this is my entry there.
I don’t feel I can vote for myself (although you are allowed to) so I will have to try and choose among the other fabulous entries.
So here I go – dancing lightly…
Frame and some of the elements from “Baby Don’t Sing No Blues” ATC that I can share with you. The frame itself and the patterned background I designed myself and Katussia graciously gave me permission to share her butterflies. The beautiful lace, however, was a freebie from Delicious Scraps “Beautiful” Addon, so I had to leave that off. But have a look, this may still be available for download! (My file is dated May of this year)
Special thanks to all who left comments – and I hope you enjoyed the other things I shared with you as a little extra in return for your kindness in taking the time
The theme at Think Monday Think ATC is Feathered Friends and Blue
The cute baby and birds image is by Cora of Clearly Vintage
who regularly shares lovely vintage pics on her blog.
Thanks, Cora!
Other credits: Ribbon, lace and flowers by Delicious, Lace butterfly by Katussia, Beads by LouCee, “B” charm by Digitreats, Frame made by me with the help of Al Ward actions. (If you would like a copy of the ATC frame and the blue and white diamond insert, leave me a comment)
Di, who left a kind comment on juno Dulcet: ATC Selections wants to know what an ATC is. Good question, Di!
ATCs are Artists Trading Cards, little pieces of artwork measuring 2.5 x 3.5″. They can be in any medium and may originally have been circulated to demonstrate different techniques. They are usually swapped or exchanged but are related to ACEOs, which are Art Cards, Editions, and Originals, which are typically sold. There’s a good article on Wikipedia about them here.
I just learned about these recently myself through my friend Limar who has an art blog, On a Separate Note. Through her I have become interested in taking part in the various challenges and it is so much fun! Coming from 12×12″ digiscrap design like us, Di, it is a real change of perspective but a welcome one to me.
For anyone who wants to give it a try, have a look at the links in my sidebar and in Limar’s as a starting point. You’ll soon be discovering your own
This weeks challenge at Three Muses
is
“Keys”
Sad songs are played in minor keys 
Chord is A Minor
Sad lady is by Heidi
Blue/White/Snowflakes for Something Completely Different.
The snowman scene is part of a Public Domain image by Karen’s Whimsy.
The snowflake background and the frosted frame (very suitable for the theme, I thought!) are achieved using Photoshop actions.
The larger snowflakes are the real thing from amazing photos of real snowflakes.
Following the immense interest in my first ATC Selections, the Vintage Borders, I am happy to be introducing my first full kit to be offered in ATC sized dimensions. Dulcet: ATC Selections contains all of the elements of the full-sized Dulcet, resized for the ATC world view and perfect for digital artists and cardmakers
When it came to the papers, this is what I decided…Since they are originally designed in 12×12″ , to reduce them to a quarter of their size just loses the detail and texture that makes them special. So I have treated them as full sheets and “cut out” an ATC from each one, just as you would do with actual paper sheets. If you would have chosen a different “slice”, by all means download the full-sized version and cut away!
The kit comes in one folder, the second preview is just to show the papers you will be getting.
A word about the gold frame included in Dulcet: ATC Selections
I have resized the gold frame carefully to fit around an ATC. As you see from the above, this easily turns your ATC masterpiece into a beautiful card Just choose a contrasting or blending colour and you’re away! In fact, the ATC used in the card above is composed of 6 Inchies, so this is a way to make use of (or to display) many of your smaller art pieces.
The card used above is A6 European size but the framed ATC would fit very snugly into Quarter Letter as well.
