ANYTHING GOES... Join my August challenge!

I've never done an Anything Goes challenge before (surprisingly!) and I'm really enjoying all the variety in the entries and the DT creations. Check it out, and join in!

Here is more inspiration from the DT... These are all rather serene, don't you think? They suit my mood well today, on this lazy late summer day. The day is hot but the light is slanted in that August way, and the summer locusts are in full chorus, so I know autumn is quietly moving closer.

MANDY CHILVERS MandysMagicalWorldofArt

Digital collage by CORINNE MARIE:   Digital by Corinne

ATC by MICHELE STORMS of Art from the Well

Gothic Inspiration for You

Shelby Pizzarro Sisterhood of the Muse

More wonderfully Gothic inspiration from the Design Team... "The Letter"... digital collage art by Shelby Pizzarro.

I hope you'll visit her blog Sisterhood of the Muse to read the story she shares to go along with this image!

The weather here in the Eastern U.S. (where Shelby is and also where I am) has been rainy, dark, damp and gloomy this week ~ the gray skies are a perfect backdrop for the leaves that are just starting to turn yellow and red, and also a perfect atmosphere for the Gothic mood of our challenge!

I don't know what it's like where you are, but I hope you'll get inspired by the DT creations, or a moody song or spooky movie... or a Poe story, or an antique object or image you come across... maybe just by a rainy day... and join us for this challenge.

Vintage Style Coloring Pages now at Lunagirl.com

Since "adult coloring books" are all the rage now, I decided to make a download pack of some Victorian style coloring pages!

See my coloring pages here.

These are 10 digital downloadable and printable pages created from artwork by Victorian illustrator Walter Crane. They show charming scenes from nursery rhymes, fables, and fairy tales, and with all of the color removed the line drawings are perfect for coloring.

You can download them instantly after purchase, print them out and start having fun. Color them with crayons, markers, colored pencils, watercolors... or color them digitally. I never outgrew my love of coloring. It's fun and relaxing... and when I was an art therapist I found that handing clients a box of crayons really brought out that "inner child"! Don't we all need to relax and get back to simpler pleasures these days?

Dare to join my FLAPPERS challenge!

The FLAPPER theme continues! See the entries so far and join the challenge! The Flappers theme continues all this week and on until Thursday, April 2, so you have plenty of time, and at Lunagirl you'll find plenty of images to get you started.

Here is a flapper to inspire you, a lovely brilliant digital art creation by Corinne Marie. This lady certainly looks like she's up to something. What a twinkle in her eye! And she is totally carrying off that bright-pink-berries-headdress look. So DARE to do it ~ enter the flappers challenge!

Postcards & Letters Challenge Continues...

Here is another beautiful, dreamy reminder from Corinne Marie of the Design Team to enter my POSTCARDS & LETTERS creative challenge! Corinne created this gorgeous digital art with Carte Postale and Post Card ephemera layered with a beautiful vintage lady who seems lost in reverie. Perhaps she is missing someone far away, after reading a message?

Visit the challenge page to see the amazing entries so far and more inspiring work by the DT. And link up your creation for a chance to win $15 shopping credit at Lunagirl.com!

Winner of Music & Dance Challenge: Corinne Marie

Entry #3, a gorgeous digital collage by Corinne Marie is the winner of the random drawing for my Music & Dance themed challenge.

Click on this thumbnail to see the full size image on her Flickr page -- it's amazing! Brilliant reds and golds and lovely collage work in the background.

Congrats and thanks to everyone who entered -- come back for our next challenge -- the theme will be Asian Art & Ephemera.

Love & Wings

I couldn't resist sharing this digital creation by Denise Pustelniak from her blog Thru the Looking Glass.  It's so sweet, and the jewel-toned colors are gorgeous...She created this for the Lasting Memories challenge with the theme Love plus Wings! I'm proud that she used some of my bright butterflies. Lasting Memories is a layout challenge blog... you might want to check it out.

Sponsoring Anything Goes at DigitallySweetChallenges this week

Lunagirl is sponsoring another challenge over at DigitallySweetChallenges, starting today and continuing this week.  It's an "Anything Goes" theme and the Digitally Sweet Design Team has created some lovely samples using the Lunagirl images I sent for them ~ including the one at right by Denise Pustelniak.

Be sure to visit DSC and check it out. Share your creation for a chance to win six featured Lunagirl images!

And I'll be sponsoring their Valentines Day challenge as well.  Looking forward to that!

And don't forget the Lunagirl VINTAGE WINTER challenge continues until Sunday ~ and your entry could win the drawing for a $10 credit at Lunagirl.com (two chances to win if your entry uses a Lunagirl image!)

DigitallySweet Challenges: Frosty the Snowman

I'm pleased as pie to be sponsoring another challenge over at Digitally Sweet Challenges!  DSC lets you "challenge your inner digital every Friday"!  The challenges focus on encouraging and celebrating digital creations, although your work doesn't have to be 100% digital to enter.

The theme this Friday is Frosty the Snowman, and the DSC Design Team has created some truly wonderful samples using Victorian snowmen images from Lunagirl!  Who doesn't love snowmen? 

There are lots of vintage snowmen on my Victorian Holidays Christmas New Years CD!

I hope you'll hop over there to see their work and to enter the challenge.  It's a fun theme, and one lucky winner will receive all the snowmen images used by the DT! (6 snowmen pictures) Plus all entries qualify for Top 3 and giveaways...


DSC owner Karen Wilson enters our Lunagirl Moonbeams challenges, and I'll hope you'll visit her at DigitallySweetChallenges.blogspot.com and also creationsbykw.blogspot.ca. As well as DSC designer Denise Pustelniak at thruthelookingglass-glassgraffitix2.blogspot.com!

Tutorial: Background Removal in Word

Denise of DigitalySweet (see previous post) has invited me to post her full tutorial on Lunagirl Moonbeams... so here it is! BIG THANKS to Denise.

Background removal on WORD

RIGHT CLICK it and save it somewhere on your computer

(I saved my in picture folder)

Now head on over to Lunagirl and get your vintage key and see what other fun stuff she has to offer!

Great stuff going on at Digitally Sweet Blog!

Just FYI, Denise at DigitallySweet blog has created a very helpful tutorial on how to remove backgrounds in MS WORD.  Hop on over and check it out.

And I am VERY pleased to be sponsoring their current challenge.  You can challenge your "inner digital" every Friday at Digitally Sweet! Do be sure to visit to see the beautiful creations of their DT and participants, and enter the challenge yourself! 

Something New at Lunagirl: CD Collections by Download

I've decided to make some of my CD collections available by direct download for a reduced price!  I've had a few requests for this over the years (especially from overseas customers) so I'm giving it a try "officially." 

For now, my Lunagirl Victorian Holidays #1 Collection (Christmas and New Years) and my Holidays #3 Collection (which includes Halloween, Thanksgiving, Patriotic, Birthdays and general greetings) are available this way ~ download them right after purchase! 

Later this evening I'll add Victorian Holidays #2 (Valentines Easter St. Patrick's Mothers and Babies), and we'll see whether this format is popular.

:-)

Winner of Digital Backgrounds Challenge...

So I told the randomizer to pick a number between 1 and 5, and the winner of the Using Digital Backgrounds Challenge is ...
 entry #3 by WendyLynn's Paper Whims!

Wendy, please email me at info@lunagirl.com to claim your $5 coupon for Lunagirl.com!

Everyone please check in later day for the next challenge announcement: Steampunk Girls.

Digital Background Card by Vicki

Just today and tomorrow left to enter the digital backgrounds blog challenge!  So far we have only four entries, so your odds of winning are pretty good!  Everything seems kind of slow lately, and I think maybe alot of people are on vacation.

Vicki has been busy creating another beautiful card with digital backgrounds, however.  Thank you, Vicki, as always!  Very pretty.  You can check out Vicki's blog challenges at The Cheerful Stamppad.

Vicki writes:  "On this card I used as a mat to my card the blue Lunagirl background that was highlighted in a recent post plus a Lunagirl image.  I accented the image with some flowers and flourish  and the sentiment which is not very obvious as it is an acrylic embellishment."

Blog Challenge Inspiration: Using Digital Backgrounds

Here's some more gorgeous inspiration from the Lunagirl Moonbeams Design Team.  All of these use the digital backgrounds from Lunagirl Carte Postale digital collage sheet to achieve different effects.  Thanks, Moonbeams, as always!  I love all of these ~ some of my favorites of all your projects.  Blog readers: I hope these inspire you to take part in our digital backgrounds blog challenge!  You have until Sunday night, and you could win a $5 gift discount at Lunagirl.com!

Parisian postcard by MICHELE STORMS: "a postcard with images from carte postale, african american vintage CD and some paris images from the internet along with other little embellishments"

From PETRA BERENDSEN: a little card with digital background from Carte Postale and a couple of Lunagirl images

From VICKI ROMAINE: a card with backgrounds from Carte Postale and angel image from Lunagirl Microscope Slides #5

MICHELE STORMS created this lovely little tag with digital backgrounds and the free Lunagirl Flapper image from my last post!

Digital Art by Petra

Well, I'm finally back on the blog to bring you two more projects by Petra.  Three days of working in the heat cleaning out an old house the family has inherited ~ has worn me out!  Time for a "rest" day online.

And I'm happy to share with you two more lovely "digital backgrounds" creations by Petra Berendsen of the Design Team!

 Petra wrote:

"When I used the postcard background, I started to play adding more of your images and creating digital postcards or instant printable art. Your backgrounds and images work so perfectly together." 


Remember to please visit my digital backgrounds category at Lunagirl.com, where I will keep all my "background" digital collage sheets ON SALE for over 40% off throughout this challenge!  It's a great chance to snap up some digital resources that you can use over and over again, for printed or digital projects.

Thanks, Petra, for the inspiration!  There are truly so many ways to combine images to create projects that can be either complex or beautifully simple!

Blog Challenge July 15-28: Using Digital Backgrounds

For my next blog challenge, I am challenging everyone to create projects using digital backgrounds!  Some aspect of the project must use a digital background.  The project itself can be digital, or you can print a digital background to use ... when you post your project just tell us how you used the digital background.  For example, in creating the badge above I used a digitized French postcard back (with gradient transparency) and a floral patterned background that I created using Victorian wallpaper!

To get you started, the Lunagirl Moonbeams Design Team have submitted some lovely works that show the great variety of ways you can use digital backgrounds (SEE BELOW!).  They have been working with two of my digital collage sheets, Carte Postale 2 and Vintage Adverts: Seeds and Plants.  I have many others, from old letters and ledgers, to maps and medieval prints, to fabrics and Victorian wallpaper patterns (which I used above).

If you need help finding digital backgrounds, please visit my digital backgrounds category at Lunagirl.com, where I will keep all these ON SALE for over 40% off throughout this challenge!

This challenge (#6) will end at 11:55 pm on July 28 ~  The winner will be selected randomly (random number generator) to win the $5 discount coupon for Lunagirl.com.

Must use at least one digital background of any type (just tell us how you used it),
Any craft or medium is OK,
No more than 3 entries from one person in each challenge, and
Please link back to my blog and/or Lunagirl.com on your site if you have one.
 
Of course I love if you use at least one Lunagirl product, but that's not a requirement!
Most important is have fun, get creative, enjoy vintage.



MOONBEAMS DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION

 This beautiful rose-themed Thoughts of You card is from Vicki Romaine:

"You can mix digital with rubber stamping.  Here I show that they can compliment each other.  I chose an advertisement about roses to go with the image . Rose stamp is by PSX; sentiment  by Koette Hall.  The rose is colored with Copics."

 Michele Storms used a different part of the same digital background sheet and achieved a whole different look for her adorable fairy girls:

"For my 1st piece with the digital backgrounds i made a 4x4 canvas.i used the seed plants background.  as you can see, garden fairies are still alive and well and turning up all over the place.  the little girls are from the african american vintage CD with wings from fly away home."



  
Petra Berendsen has created another simply lovely tag combining a printed digital background with images and embellishments:

"Digital backgrounds are so versatile and can be used in so many ways. I kept this project quite simple to show off the wonderful Carte Postale from Lunagirl's Carte Postale 2 collage sheet. I created a little tag adding a lovely image from the same collage sheet and one of the beautiful butterflies from the Rainbow Butterfly Wings collage sheet. The tag is embellished with some pearls, paper flower and some stamping."

$5 Download Packs at Lunagirl.com and on Etsy

I'm trying something new, creating several $5 "download packs" that are available at Lunagirl.com and also in my etsy shop.  Actually I offered a couple for Halloween and Christmas last year and they were very popular, so I thought I would try some more.

So far I've created download packs Pink Roses, Red Roses, Yellow Peach and White Roses, Purple and Blue Flowers (violets, lilacs, forget-me-nots, pansies), and Bird Labels (such as Old Crow here!).  This is in addition to Christmas Santas, Christmas Children, Angels, and Halloween images.

Each one offers around 40-100 images, all full-size and excellent quality the same as on my CDs, for $5 and immediate download.  

It's a very quick and easy way to add to your Lunagirl images collection.  Instant gratification! (and easy on your wallet). 

 Come see! http://lunagirl.com/collections/downloads

New! Digital Downloads of Individual Images

I'm trying a new kind of item in my etsy shop ~ digital downloads of single images in high resolution, at very nice prices.  I have so many incredibly stunning images, especially the old Paris photo postcards, and while most of them are available on my collage sheets and CDs, I like the idea of highlighting them individually so they really stand out ~ and the idea of offering them in a larger file size so you get even better resolution and can print at larger sizes if you like (or resize small).

I hope you'll stop by my etsy shop and take a look sometime.  Maybe you'll find something to love for your next project or just for a beautiful frameable print!  Sorry about the watermarking ~ I have to do that because etsy lets you zoom the image to full size and unfortunately some people do steal sample images.  The actual images you receive of course do not have that!  And I always appreciate suggestions on what you would like to see more of...

Collage Sheets for Mother's Day!

 Lunagirl collage sheets for Mother's Day cards, tags, and other projects.The design above incorporates old photos and frames combined and altered to lovely sepia tones.

More images of motherly love ~ taken from old postcards and photos. Below are some of our favorite images of mothers from paintings. You'll find all of these and more at LUNAGIRL.COM (digital downloads) and now also at COLLAGESHEET.COM (for printed AND digital!)