All things Australian

I am having an extra long weekend thanks to the public holiday, for Australia Day. Our national day of celebration, has left me feeling a little patriotic. I have spent the last couple of days, colouring up all the Aussie images I have in my collection, with my beloved Copic Markers! :)...and finishing off Week 3 and 4 of my photo-a-day Family Album. The photos that feature in my layouts for these weeks, are very typical of  Australian Summer activities and icons - backyard BBQ's, cricket, swimming, thongs (flips flops to my overseas friends!) and lots of time outdoors - who could ask for more?!

 As you can see, my youngest daughter has left today for Fiji as part of a Volunteer Eco Students Abroad

program - where she will be in a little village working with the children teaching English and basic sanitation, installing new play equipment, repainting the school and constructing bathrooms. I am sure her adventures will be well documented in Week 5 and 6 of our Family Album.

These are a couple of the Aussie themed cards I have worked on this weekend. The first is Digger Marci she is a relatively new release from  La La Land Crafts Stamps - designed especially for us Aussies and available to purchase now in the Mad for Markers online store.

Copics Used:

Skin -E11, E01, E000/Cheeks RV42
Hair - Y21, Y23, Y25, YR23
Boots - E31, E33, E35
Shorts -YG97, YG95, YG93
Top - YG95, YG91
Dog Tags/Socks - W1, W3, W5
Flag - B18, B16, B12, R27, R24, R22

I used a white gel pen for the stars and the outline of the Union Jack and to cover up some of my colouring mistakes LOL! - I need a bit more practise colouring in finer detail! The papers used were from My Mind's Eye - Stella & Rose collections - Gertie & Hazel 6 x 6 Paper Pads. I also made a discovery while colouring this image and if you are curious as to what that discovery was... pop on over to the Mad for Markers Blog to find out LOL!

The wonderful "Boss Lady"- Sammi at Mad for Markers created some fantastic Australia Day Freebies to share with you -

....and I was very eager to colour the Aussie Gal and Mr Cool Ray. I saved the images emailed to me, in a word document - resized them to fit on my card, then printed them (on my home printer ) onto some X-Press IT A4 Blending Card.

Copics Used:

Skin -E11, E01, E00, E000/Cheeks RV42
Eyes - B12, B16
Hair - Y21, Y23, Y25, YR23
Dress/Shoes - B12, B16, B18, R27, R22
Sun - YR23, Y23, Y21, B16, B12

again, I used a white gel pen to add detail,the sentiment was printed on my computer and the patterned paper is also from the Gertie paper pad.

The Mad for Markers DT would love to see your creations using these Aussie images - feel free to share them on our Facebook Group Page and while you are there, remember to send Sammi some love.

Happy Colouring,

Love, Sunshine and lots of Photos

We are two weeks into the New Year and I am sure it is still ok to say "Happy New Year"?!?. As readers to my blog, you know that I love taking photos and I'm very addicited to my Copic Markers and 2012 will be no exception!! That is why I thought, I might dedicate my first post of the year to a bit of both!!

Over the past few years I have participated in a Photo a Day type project. In 2009 I joined a group of friends online and we encouraged and challenged each other to commitment to the project. In 2010, I played along with my online friends again and continued to take my scheduled "photo-a-day". It was  fabulous and a whole heap of fun! At the end of the year I completed a two volume  Digital Scrapbook....below is look at the pages pertaining to my Week 5 of this project.

In 2011 I continued to take my scheduled "photo-a-day", but sadly the photos I took are still sitting on my computer. Sometime during the year I got a little lost...life was throwing me a few curve balls and my project came to a bit of standstill. I was still taking photos -  but not daily! - and when the year ended I was very disappointed with myself....I stressed over it for awhile then decided not to worry...I could always go back and present my 2011 photos in a monthly format and slowly this is what I am doing. Now in 2012, I am going to make the effort of continuing the tradition of recording my daily activities and family life in photos.

These 2012 layouts are all in Digital format and were created in Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus using the Digital Kit "Garden Tranquility".

I really love the concept of a Photo-a-Day...it makes me look at ordinary things in extraordinary ways, it improves my photography skills, and leaves me with a snapshot of "the year that was" for our family. I encourage everyone to give it a try - you won't be disappointed!

My feature photo for Week 1 of 2012 was the inspiration for my latest card creations. It portrays Summer Fun.... as does Beach Marci, a sweet stamp from the La La Land Crafts Stamps range, available in the Mad for Markers store. The bright pink inflatable ring, blonde hair of my daughter and the blue/green of the water all inspired my chose of Copic colours for these cards.

For my first card I reached for my favourite pink and purple colour combinations -

Copics Used:

Skin -E11, E01, E000/Cheeks R20
Hair - Y21, Y23, Y25
Sun-Hat - BG11, BG13, BG15, R81, R83, R85
Swim Suit - V12, V15, V17, BG11, BG13, BG15,
Inflatable Ring - R81, R83, R85, BG11, BG13, BG15

I also used a little bling in the centre of the floral design of the inflatable ring and the sun hat...and some more of that great adhesive paper lace I mentioned in my last post!

I was a little more adventurous for my second card, challenging myself to use a more vivid pink combination of Copics and a little air-brushing.

Copics Used:

Skin -E11, E01, E000/Cheeks R20
Hair - Y21, Y23, Y25
Sun-Hat/Inflatable Ring - RV02, RV04, RV06, RV09, V12, V15, V17
Swim Suit - V12, V15, V17, BG11, BG13, BG15
Sky -B12
Grass - BG10

The sentiment "We all grow better in Sunshine and Love" is something my Mum says - I generated it on my computer using the font CKJournalling...which is the same font I used on my 2012 Photo-a-Day layouts.

I love how you can take one image and get so many different looks for your cards just by varying your colour choices. If you would like experiment with some new colour combinations yourself... be sure to pop over to the Mad for Markers Challenge Blog where the DT team have been sharing their wonderful creations and some fabulous Copic combinations....and remember, now is a perfect time to add some new colours to your collection - every marker purchased from the Mad for Markers store.. earns you some free goodies in the Copics Rewards Program.