My challenge blog for Lunagirl Vintage Images, featuring fun creative challenges with prizes, projects, freebies, holiday and seasonal info, and more!
A place for mixed media artists, card makers, scrapbooking enthusiasts, fabric artists, creators of jewelry, altered art and crafts of all kinds.
Would you like Lunagirl to sponsor a challenge on your blog? Email me at INFO@LUNAGIRL.COM. :-) I'll provide images for your DT!

Monday, September 30, 2013

TAGS challenge at the Cheerful Stamppad!

I'm very pleased to be sponsoring a challenge at Vicki Romaine's CHEERFULSTAMPPAD blog!

The theme is TAGS, and here is a pretty, feminine tag that Vicki has created.  She used images from a couple of Lunagirl collage sheets -- Victorian Elegance Tags and Women Vintage Labels -- complemented and enhanced with a beautifully distressed background and other embellishments.  I love the soft shabby French colors -- and look at the lady's crescent moon necklace!  It goes well with the curves of the frame around her.

Please do visit the CheerfulStamppad to see her full post about this tag and  ENTER THE TAGS CHALLENGE!

Autumn Inspiration by Michele

I'm pleased to have such a great response to the "Autumn"-themed challenge.  Twenty entries so far, and still a week to go!

You can link up your entry all the way until midday Sunday (US Central Time), so there is still plenty of time to join in.  It's fun, and you'll have a chance to win two free Lunagirl digital collage sheets of your choosing.  I've decided to choose TWO winners this week, so your chances just doubled!

To inspire you, here is another lovely creation from the Lunagirl Moonbeams Design Team.  A beautiful goddess/girl with flowers in her hair and leaves swirling around her, pretty papers, golden flowers, an orange poppy, a sweet sentiment, and more, come together in this beautiful perfectly autumnal tag by Michele Storms.

The autumn goddess image is from my Lunagirl Mucha 1 collage sheet, and the stamps are from Rogue Redhead Designs.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

A Charming Autumn Tag by Petra

 Design Team member Petra Berendsen submitted this absolutely beautiful sample for your inspiration today.  She created a lovely tag using a Lunagirl image of a lady walking in the autumn woods (I like the contrast of her dark dress against the golden leaves, and the book under her arm!).  I just love the colors here in the pretty backgrounds and embellishments.  They complement the colors in the central image so well.  And she tried something a little different that turned out amazing:  she created the little Fall leaves charm!

Petra writes:  "I created a tag and did a little bit of experimenting. For quite a long while I have had some printable shrink plastic which I had not used before but it was just the right stuff to create a leave charm with one of your images. And I have to say I am quite pleased the way it turned out. The colours came out very nicely and the image is still pristine - even after the shrinking... Hope you like it."


It's gorgeous!  Perfect inspiration on this bright Fall day.


Iconic Autumn by Vicki

This simple and elegant design by DT member Vicki Romaine is the very epitome of Autumn beauty, don't you think?  Simply beautiful.

Vicki writes: "This Lunagirl grouping of leaves is the main feature on this card when placed on a Cheery Lynn Designs die.  The sentiment is a SEI embellishment."

Thank you, Vicki ~ Visit Vicki's blog cheerfulstamppad.blogspot.com and see her challenges too!

Friday, September 27, 2013

Autumn Drama by Michele

When I opened this latest sample sent to me by DT Member Michele Storms, the actual words out of my mouth were, "Oh Wow!"

This is so pretty and quite dramatic.  I recognize the Egyptian Art Nouveau image from one of my Mucha collage sheets.  I love her pose, and the assymmetrical placement of the arch on the background, and the swirl of big bright leaves.

Thanks, Michele!  Visit Michele at Artfromthewell.blogspot.com.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

OOPS! I goofed.


vintage moon Victorian card

I just clicked on my Shine On Harvest Moon sheet music that I shared a few days ago, and I discovered that I had shared the wrong page! 

The page I linked IS from that song, but I meant to share the page that had the lyrics for the main "Shine On" chorus.  Oh well, sorry about that... I've linked the page with the main Harvest Moon chorus lyrics to that post below.

Dreamy Autumn Fairy by Mandy

Here is a dreamy tag featuring an autumn fairy and her owl "familiar," created by DT member Mandy Chilvers for TAGalong challenge blog.  I just had to share it here!

The fairy is from my Fairies #1 collage sheet.  I love how Mandy has enhanced the color to a sweet red, and I also like the texture of the trim at the bottom and the cut-out shape at the top of the tag.  And the little owl...

Hop on over to tagalongchallenge.blogspot.com and see more (and join in!)

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Autumn Leaves and Harvest Moon: NEW STUFF!


Still more autumnal collage sheets!  I couldn't resist creating a design of falling Fall leaves.  There is also a pretty Victorian painting of little girls with a pile of autumn leaves, and a little bird.  And the Shine On Harvest Moon sheet music I shared the other day inspired a whole design of full moon faces and other harvest moon pictures.  These are both available at Lunagirl.com along with a whole collection of autumn-themed and autumn-related collage sheets and image collections.  All at a special new price of just $2.50 each.  Have fun, and enter the Autumn blog challenge!  Now I really must stop working and go cook supper!

Tags by Mandy

 I'm pleased that we gotten several entries for the Autumn blog challenge already.  :-)

Here are two pretty "autumnal" tags created by Mandy Chilvers, to get you dreamin' and schemin' about your own projects!

Mandy says she has been addicted to creating tags lately ~ and it shows.  These are so pretty!  Check out Mandy's new challenge blog just for tags: http://tagalongchallenge.blogspot.com/

Monday, September 23, 2013

Free Fall Ephemera: Harvest Moon Sheet Music

Here's a fun freebie I came across today while looking for autumnal images:  A page of the sheet music for the song Shine On Harvest Moon.  The Harvest Moon has just passed (see my blog post from a few days ago).  I may use this on a collage sheet design, but thought I would share it with my blog readers for free!  (click on the pic to enlarge it to full size and then save to your computer)


Blog Challenge: AUTUMN

Yesterday was officially the first day of Autumn here in the Northern Hemisphere, so for my next blog challenge let's do an AUTUMN theme.

What does autumn (or autumnal) mean to you?  To me, Autumn means falling leaves, of course, and autumn colors of gold and red and orange and brown.  It means nights that get longer and cooler.  Bright sunny days with a little nip in the air.  Cool rainy days spent with a blanket and a good book.  Pumpkin pie, red apples, Halloween and Thanksgiving.  School clothes and Number 2 pencils.  Here in Tennessee, early Fall means the acorns are ripe and the squawky bluejays arrive to eat them!

If you see the definitions of "autumnal" above, it can also refer to a metaphorical autumn, the autumn of one's life, an autumnal style in art, a feeling of something a little past ripe but still lush, a turning from fullness of summer toward the stillness of winter, a golden in-between time.  A turning inward.  Fall always energizes me, with cooler air and bright turning leaves and a new school year, but it also tends to make me reflective.

I can't wait to see your creative reflections on AUTUMN! 
The Design Team has created some very lovely pieces to get your creative juices flowing (see them below). 

GUIDELINES:
This challenge (#11) will end at 11:55 AM on October 6 (I'm ending it a little earlier this time, please note!)  

The winner will be selected randomly to win two free Lunagirl digital collage sheets of your choice!

Any craft or medium is OK,
No more than 3 entries from one person in each challenge, and
Please link to my blog & Lunagirl.com on your site if you have one.
 

Of course I love if you use at least one Lunagirl product, and I hope you'll go take a look at my collection... but that's not a requirement!  Most important is have fun, get creative, enjoy vintage. 


LUNAGIRL MOONBEAMS DESIGN TEAM
Find out more about the Moonbeams DT and visit their blogs! 

The DT are using some Fall leaves images from my Victorian Flowers CD plus a girl from Vintage Girls & Boys and a lady walking in the woods from Vintage Women & Men. (You'll also find her on this Spring & Autumn collage sheet.) Here is an assortment of collage sheets and images that seem "autumnal" (I think I'll create one or two more also!): http://lunagirl.com/collections/autumn-collage-sheets

PETRA BERENDSEN
VICKI ROMAINE
MANDY CHILVERS
MICHELE STORMS

Autumn Girls Digital Collage Sheet

Fresh baked ~ a new Autumn Girls digital collage sheet!

I'm working on a Fall Leaves digi sheet as well...

Challenge Winner: Karla B aka Lady Skyclad

We had nine really beautiful entries for the Vintage Bellydancer blog challenge. 
Thank you to everyone who played along this time! 

So many lovely dancers ~ we'll have to do another dance-themed challenge in the future.

I've used the random number generator to select the winner for this challenge...


entry #5 "She is the Beauty of the Sun" 
by Karla B aka Lady Skyclad !

Congratulations to you, Karla, please email me at info@lunagirl.com for your prize of two Lunagirl digital collage sheets of your choosing.

 Thanks again to everyone who entered.  I truly enjoyed seeing your creative work.  Be sure to enter my next challenge, on the theme of AUTUMN.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Gypsy Bellydancer Card

There's still time to get in on the Vintage Bellydance blog challenge!

Here is another beautiful card from Design Team member Vicki Romaine:

"The Lunagirl gypsy bellydancer image is placed on a split card and the designer paper is accented with a woven thread with pearls trim.  Also, I used a grouping of paper flowers with stones in the center as an additional embellishment."

I love all the different ways our artists have used this favorite image.

You can visit Vicki's blog The Cheerful Stamppad to see her work and enter her challenges too!

Friday, September 20, 2013

Bellydancer Blog Challenge Inspiration

I'm pleased to see a couple more entries for the Vintage Bellydancer challenge... still time to link yours up!  Work on it this weekend and link up by Sunday night!

And just in time here is a tag by Design Team member Petra Berensen.  Gorgeous!  Love the feathers, the lacy trim at the bottom, the little flowers in my very favorite color of blue!  Together with the backgrounds and bling they complement this sassy dancer so well.

Thanks, Petra!  Also visit Petra's blog!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

NEW! Retro Gals

 The new collage sheets keep coming!

By request from a lovely customer, I got on the ball and pulled together some pictures of 1950s gals to create these two new digital sheets.

The Retro Moms are looking smart and sassy (although one is upset that she burned dinner) posed with their fifties fashions and well-stocked pantries, and I've included a cool dial from a mid-century dial telephone (for those of you too young to know what that is!)

The Retro Housewives seem terribly excited about their shiny appliances and kitchen accessories!  These old ads are funny.  I hope you'll enjoy them.

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.

:-)



Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Shine On, Harvest Moon

The Full Moon tonight is the HARVEST MOON.
Check out our "Celestial" collage sheet HERE (second row down).

The Harvest Moon is the moon closest to the Autumn Equinox (the first day of Fall, when the day and night are exactly the same length), which this year is on Sunday, September 22.  The next full moon, usually in October, is named the Hunter's Moon.

The Harvest Moon and Hunter's Moon appear larger and brighter to some people, but they're really not. This time of year there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise of the full moon, so the night seems brighter than usual. This allowed farmers to stay out and work in their fields by moonlight under the Harvest Moon, and later, under the Hunter's Moon, allowed hunters to see the deer and other animals that came out to browse in the then-harvested fields.
Go out and dance under the big bright moon!

What is a BLUE MOON? When there are two full moons during one month, the second one is called the Blue Moon.

FAIRY MOON? When there are two NEW moons (dark moons, or "moonless" nights) during one month, the second is called a Fairy Moon.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

More New Collage Sheets: Antique Tarot Cards

One of my favorite things to collect is Tarot card decks.  This one features antique Victorian era artwork, and I've created some digital collage sheets with a few designs in both bright colors and sepia tones.  Perfect for gypsy souls.
 


Winged Dancer by Michele

Michele Storms has outdone herself this time with yet another beautiful project for the blog challenge.

This serene and lovely tag is both inspired and inspiring, don't you think? 

the dancer is from la dance orientale and the wings are from fly away home.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Lovely Bellydancers and Gypsies from the Design Team

Oh, it's Monday again.  The good news about that (you didn't there was any, did you?) is that it's time to share more Design Team creations on our blog challenge theme of BELLYDANCE.

Mandy Chilvers has used one of my favorite dancers here as the central image on a beautiful tag embellished with flower and leaves, ribbons, and a softly colored background.  

Vicki Romaine does a fabulous job with a fortune teller theme on her piece:
"I decided to make an arch with my Lunagirl gypsy image this time.  Embellishments reflect a gypsy fortune teller.  They include a playing card. a number, the fortune teller hand, a moon and a wheel.  I placed on the bottom border a scrap piece of burlap ribbon." ~ Vicki

 Michele Storms created this amazing ornate card. 

Great work, ladies, as always!

To all my readers and visitors:
You still have all week to enter the blog challenge!
It doesn't close until Sunday night (11:55 pm Central Time), and you will be entered in the random drawing to win free digital collage sheets of your choice.

To enter, go to the Blog Challenge here, and use the blue "Add Your Link" button to link up your project.

You can email me if you have questions, at info@lunagirl.com.  :-)
Bellydance images on sale!








Sunday, September 15, 2013

New Collage Sheets ~ Patterned Backgrounds in Pretty Color Themes

 I've been busily creating new collage sheets the past few weeks, but haven't gotten them all posted to the blog.

Here are a couple of sheets featuring patterned backgrounds in a size perfect for ATCs and cards, or tags, or frames for pictures in scrapbooks.

I've also been scanning antique Tarot cards, in bright colors and also in sepia, so if you like those I'll have them posted soon. 

The other thing I've been working on, by request, is more mid-century images ~ 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, retro housewives, etc. ... so stay tuned for that on the blog next week, or go ahead and see my new stuff on the website

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Monday, September 9, 2013

Blog Challenge: Vintage Bellydancers

Our next Lunagirl Moonbeams Blog Challenge theme is one of my favorite things: Bellydance.

You've maybe seen some of the gorgeous vintage bellydancer Paris postcards ~ they are some of my very favorite vintage imagery.

I have a very nice collection of vintage bellydance and gypsy girl images available, many of them altered or embellished by me over the years.  I've made some into my Bellydancer collage sheets, and many are available on my Lunagirl Ladies Photos CDs (you'll find classical & exotic ladies on Volume One, bellydancers & middle eastern costume on Volume Three, and gypsy girls on Volume Four).

As I like to do I'm putting all of these on special for you throughout this challenge!  (And as I also like to do, I'm busy scanning you some freebies...)

This challenge (#10) will end at 11:55 pm on September 22 ~  The winner will be selected randomly (random number generator) to win two free Lunagirl digital collage sheets of your choice!

Be creative but stick to the theme,
Any craft or medium is OK,
No more than 3 entries from one person in each challenge, and
Please link back to my blog & Lunagirl.com on your site if you have one.
 

Of course I love if you use at least one Lunagirl product, and I hope you'll go take a look at my collection... but that's not a requirement!  Most important is have fun, get creative, enjoy vintage.  

And do not miss the beautiful and inspiring creations of the Design Team, following below!

LUNAGIRL MOONBEAMS DESIGN TEAM: Michele, Mandy, and Vicki have submitted some fabulous pieces on the theme to get you started... (Petra will be back with us next week.)  The DT is working with collage sheets La Danse Orientale and Bellydance Three...

Michele Storms:
my belly dance piece is a gothic arch using 2 images from "la danse orientale" and various papers and charms to evoke the romantic feel of the beautiful art of belly dance.
 Here is gorgeous tag from our newest Lunagirl Moonbeams Design Team member, Mandy Chilvers.  Love the deep jewel colors!


Vicki Romaine:
This card is serving two purposes.  Firstly it is for the Lunagirl challenge.  Secondly it is the inspirational piece for my challenge which uses a picture as a basis for the card.  I love it when a card serves more than one purpose.
For this card I used my Gelli plate and made the background.  Next I used a Lunagirl image, cut her out and placed her the background cardstock.  A sentiment and some altered flourish were added.

Welcome Mandy ~ New Design Team Member!

Another important announcement this morning is that we are welcoming a new member of the Lunagirl Moonbeams Design Team:  Mandy Chilvers has graciously accepted the invitation to join.  Welcome, Mandy, I'm very happy to have you with us!

Click here to learn more about Mandy, and stay tuned for lots of inspiration from all of the Design Team!

I'll get to work on our next challenge theme: Bellydance.

Winner of the Seed Packs Vintage Garden Challenge :-)

I've had my cup of very strong hot tea and half an hour of pinterest, so I think I'm awake enough to write a post now!  The first order of business is to announce the winner of the random drawing for the Seed Packs Vintage Garden blog challenge.  We had such pretty entries this time; I just love looking at them.  I'm crazy for gardens, and everyone submitted such gorgeous work!


The lucky winner of the drawing is #4 Annie Claxton and her amazing altered gardening journal!  (Click the picture to go to her blog post and see lots more pictures of it!)

Congrats, Annie ~ email me at info@lunagirl.com to claim your coupon code for two free Lunagirl digital collage sheets. 

We start the next challenge on the theme of BELLYDANCE today ~ I'll be posting that soon.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Link Up Your Seed Pack Vintage Garden Project Today!

Everyone still has until 11:55 tonight (Central Time in U.S.) to add their creation to the blog challenge!  The entries so far are just lovely ~ looking at them all together it truly looks like a lush garden!  Take a look at our Vintage Garden and join in for a chance to share and a chance to win the drawing tomorrow for free Lunagirl digital collage sheets.

Big thanks and many blessings to Vicki Romaine, who in the midst of a motorhome mishap/adventure has created and sent us one more beautiful seed pack / garden card for inspiration.  :-)  Look close to see the three-dimensional effect on the flowers... I'll make the picture big so you can see better.  I love how several people have used this image in different ways!  All to great effect.

"I decided to do something a little different with the seed pack image this time.  It may be a little difficult to see, but upon looking closely you will see that I made the flowers three dimensional.  I printed three copies of the flowers and cut parts out and placed them on top of the original image with pop ups.  It really gives the card depth."

 Hop on over to The Cheerful Stamppad sometime and join Vicki's blog challenges too!

Thursday, September 5, 2013

From Michele Storms of the LM DT

"garden fairies are everywhere and this one (from lunagirl “fly away home” collage sheet) is here to help some chrysanthemums grow.  this seed pack is from the “french flowers seed pack #1” and it inspired me to go wild with the butterflies, too."  ~ Michele

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Free, for Inspiration, a new tag

I've started playing around with my French botanical prints and "Revue Horticole" pages and other old ephemera, and thought I would share one of the tags I created yesterday.  I just love these colors.

This would be perfect to incorporate into a project for the Seed Packs Vintage Garden blog challenge (hint, nudge, wink).

You are welcome to use this for personal non-commercial use.  I do ask that if you publish something using it on a blog website magazine etc., that you please credit and link Lunagirl Images.

Thanks!

~ Karen

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Blue Jays

I can feel summer loosening its grip as the wheel turns toward autumn.  The predicted high today is "only" 86!  This morning I heard bluejays, who come every year in search of acorns and bring September with them. The sounds of an early September morning in the South ~ the drowsy whir of the summer locusts, rising and falling like waves (if you're from the South, you know them) and the squawks of the first bluejays.


 
The original of this print shows the bluejays breaking and eating the eggs of some other bird (!) but I've altered them to a more "peaceful" scene (are bluejays ever really peaceful?)  I love the orange "crossvine" flowers as well ~ we have them growing on our backyard fence.  Enjoy the last few days of Summer. ~ Karen

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