Saturday Showcase: February 23, 2013

If you are here for the showcase, no need to look any further.  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

These wonderful cards were created by

PIA  

Her blog is called  

Pia's Papir og Perler

I actually met Pia through the Make It Monday Challenge blog.  If you are unfamiliar with MIM, this blog encourages participants to visit each other's blogs.  I don't remember who reached out to who first but we've been visiting each other since then.  I really like Pia's work.  She uses a lot of vintage images in her creations and she does such interesting things with them.  There is also a lot of three dimensional work in her designs which just gives them that added pop. It was so hard narrowing down to just one card that I decided on showcasing two of them. 


The first card, above and to the right, is from the post, "Paper Pieced Owls in the Wood".  Pia has used this image of the owl several times for other cards but she makes each project look completely original.  I find this important as it shows the versatility of any one given stamp.  We all only have so much money to spend on our crafts, so it is important to be able to get as much use out of each as we can.  I love the texture on the lighter colored paper making it really look like wood.  I also really like the ticket strip running across the bottom and am in love with those cute little owls.  The expressions on their faces are just adorable.

As far as the second card goes, above and to the left, I just love all the white on white.  While Pia may have posted it over a year ago, the appeal of this card is timeless and it is definitely one of my favourites.  It is from the post, "White on White card with doliy and flowers".  I've been seeing a few cards similar to this style lately and I am really taking a liking to them.  This one in particular is just stunning.  From the flowers to the butterfly to the diecuts to the lace, all the layers and embellishments help to lift the eye so that the starkness of the white is broken up nicely.  I encourage you to take the time to go over and find out for yourself, just how incredible Pia's work really is.  Clicking on the blog name or following the above links will get you there.

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Free Digital Stamp Choice
The wonderful sentiments showcased below were created by

CHRISTINE 

Her blog is called

Mudmaven

It is the day of twosies because here is another instance of where I just couldn't decide.  That is the nice thing about being the boss of your own blog, you can change your mind about how you do things any time you like.  You still might get in trouble from your readers, but at least you won't be fired.

I don't get to go over and see Christine's work as often as I'd like to but when I do, I always find something wonderful she has created.  Along with showcasing cards, she also offers up word art on most Mondays.  One of the reasons I like her word art so much is that she tends to also include a small graphic of one kind or another in most of her work.  

In the first one I'm showing you, she has chosen to use a very funky looking heart as part of the design.  I just love that extra curl emanating from the top of the heart.  It seems to take on the swirly quality of the font she has used.  This is a versatile stamp that could be used for a number of different instances.  A person could use it on a card for her husband or just as easily on one for her children.  It could also be used on cards for parents, other family members, close friends, the mail man, the washing machine repair man.....hey, you never know.  Although we may be moving from a family rated post to an adulterous one here, so I better get back on track.  The point is you could use this stamp over and over for many different people and situations.  How you use it behind closed craftroom doors, well, I'll just leave that up to you. 

To give you an idea of how this lovely image looks when part of an overall design, Christine has allowed me to also share two gorgeous cards she has created using the "Love You" word art.

Now while I truly do love the first image, I would probably have to say that the one below is my favourite.  Again, it is a digital stamp that can be used time and again for many different occasions.  There is always one reason or another to be saying thank you to someone in our lives.  Remember the quote I shared with you all awhile back, "God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.  Have you used one to say 'thank you'?" (accompanying motivational graphic available HERE).   Well, here is the perfect stamp you can use to show your appreciation to the important people in your life. 

I love the choice of font with those long stems that coordinate so well with the one on the flower.  Then, the shape of the flower curves so nicely around the word art itself making it such a lovely little design.  I can only hope to one day, have my own attempts at word art look as wonderful as Christine's.  

I hope that you are able to find some time in your busy schedule's to go and pay Christine a visit.  She also has beautiful cards to help inspire you.  Another awesome attribute is that her word art is always available for free, you just have to go looking for it.  While you can find a majority of them by clicking on her freebies button (located in the upper right hand corner of her home page), you can find more gems hidden in some of her older posts.

 Clicking on either word art image will take you directly to the post where they can be found.  Clicking on either the blog name or the button above will take you directly to Mudmaven Designs.

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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... 

JOHN

His store is called

Doctor Digi's House of Stamps

The accompanying blog of the same name is available HERE

Derek and Deirdery Dunderton are available for purchase HERE

Howdy Pilgrim is available for purchase HERE

It is my pleasure to introduce you all to John, the owner of this relatively new unique digi company in the UK.  It is so nice to have a male influence in this world of stamps.  It helps to bring about a nice balance.  The Doctor Digi store has been around for about a year now and the blog started up shortly afterwards.   I love the description that John uses on his About Us page to describe the stamps:

 "DR Digi's House of Stamps is a site that aims to bring you digi stamps with a sense of humour. We're not your average Digi site, you wont find flowers and teddy bears.  Well you might...but it'll be holding a bloody big chainsaw!" (http://www.doctor-digi.com/about_us).  

 That description is a perfect summary of the unique digi stamps available at Doctor Digi's House of Stamps.  As John says, these are not your typical digi stamps.  John has his own unmistakeable style.  When you come across a card with a Doctor Digi image on it, you know right away which company it is from.   One of the featured families on the site is the Dundertons featuring Deirdrey and her poor husband Derek.  

Meet Deirdrey & Derek Dunderton.  All those Ds how could I not fall in love with this oddball couple?  They certainly get into some interesting antics.  If you've seen these two on any cards, you can readily see the comedic value of this couple.  Lisa Minckler from You Made Me Ink is one of the DT members for Doctor Digi and she has come up with some fantastic cards featuring the Dundertons in one version or another.  

Then of course there is my favourite digi in the store, Howdy Pilgrim.  When I first saw this digi around Thanksgiving I had a good laugh.  As a vegetarian, the usual Thanksgiving cards filled with steaming plates of turkey or lush beautiful turkeys just waiting to meet their end, do absoluetely nothing for me.  This image however is just perfect for all of us non meat eaters and for anyone with a sense of humour for that matter.   Lisa has graciously allowed me to share her card with all of you to show you how much fun you can have with one of these images.  Hee, Hee, Hee, I just LOVE this card so much!
 

The other great thing about Doctor Digi is that there are so many stamps that are great to use on cards for the men in your life.  We all know that making cards for men can be difficult so it is awesome to have a place to go to for stamps that make our lives a little easier.   John also has a newsletter and offers a free digi stamp every month.   So, if you are ever in need of something a little bit different, a little bit funny and a whole lot quirky, then Doctor Digi is definitely the place you want to go.  Clicking on either digital stamp image will take you directly to the place in the store where they can be found.  Alternately, clicking on the links at the top will take you to their respective location as well.

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Just one more thing before you go.  A couple of Saturdays ago when I introduced you to San from San's Designs, I mentioned she had a DT call going.  Well, it is still on-going.  For anyone who is interested in applying, keep in mind that she is not looking for people who are just interested in getting their hands on freebies; nor is she interested in individuals who are solely into self-promotion or using their position as a steppingstone.  I commend her for adding this to her request and I truly hope that she is able to attract the right kind of people to her team.  Anyone who gets the chance to work with her images would be privileged.  If you feel that you'd be a good fit for her team and would be interested in applying, click HERE to go to the DT call post.  You will find all the details you need there.

I hope that you have enjoyed your visit and will take some time to go see each of the respective artists listed above.  They work very hard to provide us with images for our viewing pleasure so it is important that we don't take them for granted.

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.