Ahoy There, M'Hearty!

Mo Manning, the genius behind Mo's Digital Pencil (of course), has just added some wonderful pirate images to her shop, which she is encouraging us all to play with at the moment.  Never having really got to grips with Paint Shop Pro, I was delighted to find this amazingly simple tutorial by Vix and, within no time, I was merging away like a pro - see:

Images: 'First Mate Kate', merged with several items from the 'Pirate Stuff' background kit.

Papers: Graphic 45, 'Transatlantique' collection

Now listen to your Aunty Peri - if you've never had a go at using digital images this way before, now's the time to experiment.  Althought the tutorial Vix has so kindly published is specifically for Paint Shop Pro, the basic principles will work in most graphic packages, and there are lots of freebie graphic packages out there, if you haven't the wish or the money to invest in expensive software just to try it out.   I found Paint.net really good as a starter package.

 I just happened to have this beautiful Graphic 45 paper - it's two sides of the same sheet, which is real value, ain't it!? I didn't leave a white border around the image this time as I wanted the finished project to have a more scenic quality.

Having matted and layered to my heart's content, I used some linen thread and sewed a dotted line around the card to the red 'X', which, of course, marks the spot!

This was really fun to do and I would recommend everyone who loves digis to have a go.  Always check the illustrator's angel policy, though: most digistamp creators won't mind you merging their own images together, but merging images from different creators is usually a 'no no' due to copyright issues.

Anyway,  I had a nasty fall at work today (damaged head, chin, wrists, knees, ankles, you name it) so I'm feeling rather sore, sick and sorry for myself.  So I'm off to bed. It'll be fun to see if I can move in the morning!

Happy crafting.
xx