Yay! - it's the Weekend!!

....and I am home alone - my family are all off doing their own thing - and I don't mind a bit!!!.... It means I get to spend it in my "Happy Room" colouring with my trusty copics, scrapbooking and whatever else, my heart desires LOL!!

Just recently the Mad for Markers Challenge Blog had a "Colouring with Gray" challenge and shared a wonderful tutorial from Copic Oz all about "Desaturating Colour with Gray" - it was perfect for this card I created using the digitial image Jack & Ginger by Mo Manning.

I wanted the colouring of my elderly couple to look a little faded and worn and I also needed my colouring to tone in with the muted and distressed look of my papers....( Kaisercraft - Timeless &  Praire Lane Collections ) Therefore, when I finished colouring my image, I waited for it to dry completely... then I coloured over the top of all the clothing areas with the

W1 ( Warm Gray ) Copic Marker and I was able to create the look I wanted.

Copics Used:

Skin - E00, E00, E11
Hair - W1, W3, W5
Pants - E33, E35, E37
Jack's Jacket/Shoes - W1, W3, W5
Skirt - E31, E33, E35
Ginger's Jacket/Hat - BG01, BG02, BG05
Ginger's Shoes/Handbag - E33, E35, E37
Posy of Flowers - YR04, Y21, YG93
....I also used a white gel pen and the Colourless Blender to add highlights to the clothing.

I used my Copic Airbrush System with BG02 to alter the white roses and pearls to co-ordinate with my papers and images... and I gave the edges of the image and the sentiment areas a distressed chalk look by "dragging" the E31 Copic Marker along the edge of the paper. I was rather pleased, with how this card turned out and I am sure I will be using the desaturating colour technique on many more in the future.

Here Comes Summer....

....he he!! - not here in Australia.....we have just entered the months of cold nights and frosty white lawns in the morning...the ideal time to stay indoors and play with paper... the current challenge over at mosdigitalchallenge is all about warm days and sunshine - and this challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to add a little bit of  "warmth" to my  cardmaking "play-time".

I chose the digital images - "Lacie with Ice-Cream" and "Kai in the Sand with Flowered Hat" for my cards....they are both so very,very cute!! I coloured each of the images with Copics and used the same sketch idea for all three cards I completed for this challenge.

Copics Used:
Skin - E000, E00, E11 - Cheeks - R20
Sand - E53, E55, E57
Bucket - R81, R83, R85
Ball - BG11, BG13, BG15, W3, W1
Hat - R81, R83, R85 BG11, BG13, BG15
Nappy - W1 & Colourless Blender

....little Kai is such a sweetie so I couldn't resist making another card.

Copics Used:
Skin - E000, E00, E11 - Cheeks - R20

Sand - E53, E55, E57
Bucket - R32, R35, R37
Ball - B93, B95, B97, R32, R35, R37
Hat - R32, R35, R37, B91, B95, B97
Nappy - W1 & Colourless Blender

....and for little Lacie I reached for my trusty pinks and came up with this card.

Copics Used:
Skin - E000, E00, E11 - Cheeks - R20
Hair - E50, E51, E55
Dress - R81, R83, R85
Stool & Ice-Cream Cone - E31, E33, E35
Ice-Cream - B00 & Colourless Blender
Thongs & Sunglasses - B91, B95, B97 - Flowers - Y15, Y17

Hope for a Brighter Future

I've got exciting news for you....the wonderful Graphic Designers at http://www.fortheluvofart.com/ have joined forces and created a kit as a fundraiser for the New Zealand & Japan Earthquake.... Red Cross Appeals....called "Hope for a Brighter Future" - profits from the sale of this kit will be evenly distributed between the two countries.


It is now available in store, for you to purchase and it is a kit you will mostly certainly want in your collection....it has fantastic papers and embellishments suitable for all forms of scrapbooking - traditional, digital and hybrid - and of course card makers.

Here is a little preview of the embellishments - the papers are equally as beautiful.

and here is a little layout I created with it ....using pics of my gorgeous eldest daughter - this layout was based on the current Digi Challenge over at the forum at For the Luv of Art - these challenges are such fun.... you should check them out...http://fortheluvofart.forumg.biz/t3151-for-the-luv-of-art-digi-challenge-2