Seeing Spots

 I've spent the afternoon playing in my "happy room" under the air-con. It has been much too hot to do anything else. However, I found it hard to concentrate and although, I had stamped lots of images I was lacking in the motivation to colour them. So I thought I would do some "blog-hopping" and find some inspiration. Oh my goodness!! - there are some amazingly clever ladies out there and the DT over at the Just Magnolia and hAngler & sTanglar Challenge Blog http://justmagnolia.blogspot.com/  are a group of creative ladies that are sure to inspire anyone. The current challenge is all about "dots & spots" which was way out of my comfort zone - I'm not a fan of spots - but there was some "pink & green" dotty papers included in the Australian edition of Simply Cards magazine that were begging to be used somewhere. I also thought that while I was stepping outside my comfort zone I'd try a few more firsts as well. I used some of the spotted paper to paper - piece my little hAnglar cutie's smock - now that was fun and I LOVE the effect - yes! I will certainly be doing more of this. The sun was much to bright to take a photo of my card in the usual set up I use.... so I tried a different zoom lens on my camera and a different location to photograph my card - unfortunately it was difficult to get the colours right - so in my next blog post you will see me back to normal LOL!!

 Copics Used:

Skin = E000, E00, E21, R20

Spotted Dress = PaperPieced/ Sleeves = RV32, RV34, RV00

Pants/Purse = YG00, YG03

Hair/Shoes = E29, E27, E33

Digital Ticket Sentiment = RV00, YG00

A Special Delivery

Today the postman delivered the most wonderful little package from a lovely young lady in Finland...

..and of course it wasn't long before it was unpacked and the gorgeous "Hanglar Treasures" were stamped  on my X-Press IT Blending Card... ready to go! These little characters are ever so cute and such a joy to colour!!  This first card was made using "Humletjej" from the 2009 Collection and of course "pink and green" were my colours of choice LOL!!

Copics Used:
Skin - E50, E51, E53, R20
Hair/Shoes - E35, E33, E31
Hat - (Flower) - RV00, RV02, RV04 (RV06)
Green Stripes - YG93, YG95, YG97

To make up my card, I chose some pink and white cardstock and complimented it with some paper prints from Kaisercraft - "Daisy Chain" from the Country Grove Collection and "Twinkle" from the Wish Upon Collection. Then embellished with some rhinestones, silk flowers, ribbon and a heart shaped pin.

The second card was made using the little character from the 2008 Collection, her name is "Blomstertjej" which means "Flower Girl".

Copics Used:
Skin - E50, E51, E53, R20
Hair/Shoes - E35, E33, E31
Dress - Y11, Y15
Spotty Pants - BG01, BG05
Flower - YR02, YR04, YG00, YG95

I used aquamarine and white cardstock and again used some Kaisercraft prints from the "Lilac Avenue" and "Devonshire" collections to make up the base of the card - the lace trim is a Martha Stewart punch, the little butterfly I punched from white X-Press IT Blending card and coloured it with Y11, Y15. I also used the Y15 to colour in some adhesive pearls and I added these to the centre of the flower and the butterfly. The sentiment is a clear sticker. The "faux-stitching" was done using a Black 0.1mm Multiliner Pen which you can purchase from http://www.madformarkers.com.au/catalog/ and the little white "freckles" on my little girls faces was done with a white gel pen.

and here is a close-up

and as an added treat.... I am sharing with you the sketch that I based both these card designs on.

Enjoy! :)

A Few More Card Creations

I do have a digitial project to finish but have found it hard to move away from card making these past few days. I managed three cards last night and thought you might like a little peek.... and I won't tell you what time I went to bed but I wasn't hitting my pillow until they were finished...LOL!

This first card uses a Lily of the Valley stamp - On the Garden Wall. It is such a sweet image and fun to colour.The sentiment is also from Lily of the Valley - Dreamy Days - Set 6 of the Circular Sentiments. This card is a little more decorated than my usual style and has been "splashed" with lots of Kindy Glitz - he he! - gotta love glitter!

Copics Used:

Pinks - RV00, RV25, RV34

Greens - YG41, YG45, YG67

Browns - E31, E33, E35. E37

.....and yes I'm  back to my beloved "pinks & greens"...and I used the sketch from the current challenge at http://justmagnolia.blogspot.com/ for this creation.

This card was made with another image from my Magnolia Stamp Club package and is called 'Tilda with a small gift" from the You are so Special 2011 Collection. I used the same pink and brown Copics to colour her as I did in the previous card...you tend to have favourites don't you?? However, I did take a detour from the pinks and reached for my purples and blues for this card.

This is "Tilda with Amaryllis" - she is another cutie - but all the little Tilda stamps are cute - aren't they??! The patterned papers used here are from Kaisercraft's 6" paper pads - Lilac Avenue and Devonshire collections....I LOVE these little paper pads for card making.

Copics Used:

Purple - BV00, BV02, BV04

Blue - BG01, BG05, BG09

Green - YG93, YG96 YG97

Yellow - Y23, Y26 and Buttermilk Spica Pen

thanks for stopping by...I really appreciate your lovely comments and words of encouragement.

A Touch More Orange

To all the "lovely ladies" that have commented about my orange cards.....you may just have started something LOL!! ;) and just maybe, I do - do orange!! I have made two more cards today and what colour copics did I pick up first? - yep, you guessed it - YR00, YR02, YR07. I was influenced by the fact that I still had some "left-over" scraps of paper from both the Kaisercraft "Tea at Elise's" and "Devonshire" collections scattered all over my desk - so rather than pack them away I put them to good use.

This first card is so much bolder than my usual style and I didn't use flowers - even that is a "detour" for me. I found these tiny buttons in my embroidery basket - they are also "left-overs" from a very old project!! and they were the perfect colour match for paper choices. I hand-cut the heart and used a white gel pen to "stitch" around it and the orange paper. I do have to tell you a "funny-story" about the image I stamped...I'm not sure what happened but I didn't stamp the image evenly and it had "blurred" edges - angry with myself....I threw it in the bin....then feeling wasteful, I retrieved it, turned it over and restamped on the back....how is that for recycling??!! - I think that qualifies me for the challenge over at http://magnoliadownunderchallenges.blogspot.com/ which is REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE.

Stamp = Brother & Sister - Magnolia Autumn 2010 Collection

Copics Used:

Tilda's Dress - YR00, YR02, YR07, YG93, YG95, YG97
Edwins Overalls - BG01, BG05, BG09
Edwins Shirt - Y21, Y23, Y26

and card No. 2

Stamp = King Tilda -Yours So Special 2011 Collection

Copics Used:

Crown - YR00, YR02, YR07

Top - Y21, Y23, Y26

Pants - B93, B95, B97

and a close-up photo

I do have to apologise for the "orange tinge" to the background of these photos -  more orange! - I hear you say! - he he! My usual white backdrop is in the wash and outside in the blazing 34oC sun, is not the ideal place to be taking photos.

New Stamps - New Colours

I've finally sat down and had some card-making "playtime". I received my Magnolia Stamp Club shipment just prior to Christmas and I so LOVE the 2011 You are so special Collection!!....  just haven't found the time to to play with them. I also had a lovely parcel of new Copic colours arrive from Mad for Markers at about the same time and both have sat on my desk - until today. I decided to move away from my usual colour palette of "Pink & Green" ( and yes it was struggle !!) and the current colour challenge at http://magnolia-liciouschallengeblog.blogspot.com/ was just the inspiration I needed. This is the photograph the colours of the challenge were taken from....

and this is the first of the two cards I made

Stamp = Tilda with Balloon
Papers = Kaisercraft "Tea at Elsie's" collection

Copics Used:

Hair = E50, E51, E53
Skin = E00, E21, R20
Balloon = YG93, YG95, YG97
Dress = YR00, YR02, YR07

and card no.2

Stamp = King Tilda
Papers = Kaiser Craft " Devonshire Tea" collection

Copics Used:

Hair  = E33, E35, E37
Skin - E00, E51, E21, R20
Pants = BG01, BG05, BG09
Blouse = YG03, YG17
Crown/Socks = Y21, Y23, Y26

and a close up pic

I am so NOT an "orange" kinda girl - but I'm rather pleased with the way these cards turned out....maybe I need to experiment with colour a bit more :)

Thankful Memories

Oh My Goodness!!...hasn't Mother Nature delivered us the most extraordinary week here in Australia? The highest summer rainfall in over 100 years, some snow in the high country, heartbreaking and tragic floods in Queensland. In my little part of Victoria, we have had rain all week, our river systems are on flood alert and the humidity levels presently rival those in Darwin - all unheard of, at this time of the year!! This might all sound dark and dreary but there is still beauty to be found in the great outdoors - the huge raindrops on my roses were testimony to this. In between the showers of rain, I managed to take some lovely photos. Then yesterday I created a layout using my rose photos accompanied by this poem I found online.

What a Rose can say?

A rose can say I love you and want you to be mine,
A rose can say I thank you for being so very kind,
A rose can say congratulations, whatever the occasion may be,
A rose can say I miss you and wish you were here with me,
A rose can say I'm sorry if I've hurt you in any way,
A rose can say get well soon, May God bless you today,
A rose can say I wish you happiness, and the best for you each day.
A rose can say farewell when someone goes away,
A rose can say hello, I'm thinking of you today,
There's just so many wonderful things that a rose can say,
A rose can say goodbye when a love one is laid to rest,
No matter what there is to say, a rose can say it best.

                                                      -Margie Driver

I complimented the layout with some rose embellishments I created using X-Press IT Blending Card, some stamps from my "Stampin Up" stash ( Natural Beauty and Roses in Winter ) and my Copic Markers. After colouring my images, I added a textured look to them by "dotting" randomly over them with my Colourless Blender ( available from http://www.madformarkers.com.au ). I decided to tear the images from the card rather than cut around the image outlines with my scissors...this added some extra texture. I then ran my marker around the torn outline, this disguised the white edge of the card and added more depth to the colour. I rather like the effect! The papers I used were, Cactus and White Cardstock from Creative Memories, the Tea at Elsie's collection from Kaisercraft, along with a strip of paper ribbon from the Creative Memories Hummingbird Collection.

Copics Used:
Pink Rose - RV25, RV32
Orange Rose - YR00, YR02
Leaves - YG45, YG63, YG67

and here is a close-up of my roses and leaves

I have also taken a photo for you of the pink rose image before I tore it from the X-Press IT Blending Card and coloured it. To stamp this image I coloured the rubber with the broad ( chisel ) tip of my Copic Marker then stamped directly onto my card. You have to work quickly when applying this technique as the ink drys very fast. I have my stamp cleaning pad beside me and as soon as I stamp the image I clean my rubber and this has prevented any staining.

as I sign off from this post... my wish for this week.... is for the rain to stop, the waters to recede and for the donations to keep pouring in to assist those affected by the floods.

Happy New Year - I'm back!

Did you miss me?? - I can't believe it is a whole month since I've updated my blog!!.. I've lost all track of time, the holiday season tends to do that to me...I'm so out of routine and not at all motivated to do anything. However, I have managed to have a little play with my copic markers and completed a quick layout that I plan to frame. The photo is one I recently took of my daughters, I just love it! and I wanted to showcase the pic and not overwhelm it with too much"decoration". I really wanted to enhance the pretty pastels of their clothes but I had a hard time matching cardstock and embellishments. I finally found some peach and cocoa coloured cardstock in "my stash" and some pink and mauve flowers/buttons that matched Stacey's floral top....but to finish it off, I really needed to find some peach coloured enhancements too! I had some large paper flowers that have a lovely shape to them but they were not the most flattering colour (for this layout)...I flipped them over and discovered they were white on the back. This is when I reached for my "trusty" copic markers and decided the best option was to re-colour them, so that they could become the perfect peach colour! I chose YR02 and outlined the flower petals and the crease lines...then YR00 to colour in the rest of the flower and to blend the YR02 highlights. A pretty layout always deserves some bling and Mad for Markers stocks Adhesive Pearls and Rhinestones in packs of 100, that are ideal for this... these too can be coloured to co-ordinate with your photos and papers. Currently, Mad for Markers has 10% off all stock and this makes the packs of Pearls and Rhinestones $3.15 each - fabulous value and the perfect opportunity to add these to your own craft making stash!! I used both YR02 and E04 to colour my pearls, some I used in the centre of my flowers and some I just scattered around the flourishes. This is my finished layout and I think it will look best in a dark timber frame.

and here is a "close-up" of the large flowers

My plan this week is to get myself back into routine and out of holiday mode...if this all goes well, I should be back on track with my design team commitments & will re-enter the "blogging world" with some layouts and cards to share with you real soon ;)

Happy New Year xx