Lots of Kisses with Best Wishes

....Hello friends and "blog followers" while I share with you, my very last creation for 2011...I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for being such loyal followers... and for all your lovely comments throughout the year. Your kind words and encouragement are very much appreciated.

My final card of the year was created with another of my favourite Mo Manning  digital images - this Sweet Miss is called Kisses - and again perfect for the sentiment!

Copics Used:

Skin: E11, E00, E000
Cheeks/Lips: R20, RV42
Hair: Y21, Y23, Y26
Dress: R81, R83, R85/ Frilly Edge - C1, C3/ Ribbon BV000, BV00, BV02
Flowers/Leaves: R85, R81, Y08, YG41, YG45, YG67

The sentiment... is my own attempt at poetry LOL!! and was generated on the computer using the font CK Journalling. I added some Crystalina Kindy Glitz to the frilly petticoat and flowers... and used  Liquid Pearls (colour - Bisque) for the heart pendant. The papers are from a collection of 6 x 6 Paper Pads - Kaisercraft/Lilac Avenue, Echo Park/Victoria Garden and Imaginisce/Garden Party. The adhesive white lace trim was picked up at a little $2 type thrift shop and I so wish I had purchased more!! ;)

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had a busy lead up to Christmas with a mixture of happy and sad moments and as such, my plans of homemade Christmas cards for everyone... just didn't happen!! My idea, was to create a collection of cards based on Mo Manning's Christmas Cherubs Irma and Vieno.... some made it into the post - others didn't!....but I thought I would share them here, so you know my intentions were good LOL!!

They were all coloured in with variations of the following Copic colours:

Red: R22, R24, R27
Brown: E31, E33, E35, E37
Green: G03, G05, G07 - G14, G16, G19

The hats were all trimmed in Polar White - Flower Soft the diamond speckled range and the papers were all chosen in shades of green and red to tone in with my base cardstock of Creative Memories - Cranberry. They were all embellished with snowflake punches and rhinestones...and some liquid pearls added to the coat buttons.

I am looking forward to a much nicer start to 2012 and lots more time to create goodies to share with you.

Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with Love, Happiness and many Special Memories.

Busy, Busy, Busy.....

...and not with Christmas preparation!! - as you can see, it has been a whole month since I last blogged and shared some creations with you. I did have good intentions -  but life, in my little part of the world as been crazy ( to say the least! )....sadly my parents have had numerous trips to hospital and my hubby is next, with minor surgery scheduled for Monday. However, there has been some special happenings in my family too. In September my nephew and his lovely lady got engaged and I was privileged to capture the moment on camera.

....aren't they just the cutest couple? Anyway, they were to be married next December, but her father has been diagnosed with a horrible illness and it was decided to bring the wedding forward 12 months. Now!... whoever said a wedding can't be planned in just 3 weeks has never met this amazing couple and their parents!! Last Friday, I again, got to witness (through the lens of my camera) - the strength and love of these two gorgeous individuals....and we had a wonderful day of celebration.

and this is the photo that just warms my heart - my sister congratulating her "baby" boy!...with a huge proud Mum smile :)

....so as you can see, Christmas card making ( and shopping ) has not appeared on my agenda as yet! However, I have managed to make this card for a dear friend, who has helped hold me together through this time. It was created with a digital image by Mo Manning called "Sophie" and it portrays exactly the sentiment I wanted.

Copics Used:


Skin: E11, E00, E00, R11
Clothes/Socks: R21, R22, R24, Y21, Y23, Y26
Hair: E33, E35, E37
Doll: B21, B23, B24, Y21, Y23, C1, C3

Hopefully, after this week, things will settle down....so I can get our Christmas celebrations organised, some gift shopping done... and I am really looking forward to a few days off work to just sit and "chill" in my craft room.

Same - Same... but Different!

Friday was a lovely mail day (thankyou Karen) - I received the very cute Tilda with Hellebores stamp from Magnolia's Sweet Christmas Dreams 2011 Collection and quickly got to adding some colour to her with my Copics - 3 times -  LOL!! Then this afternoon (Sunday), I created some cards with my 3 coloured images - each of the cards uses the same sketch formula, the same lace and a selection of the same bling and charm embellishments.....but at the same time, each is uniquely different....and a little different to the usual flower arrangements I embellish my cards with!!

Copics Used:

Dress - R81, R83, R85
Hair - E53, E55, E57
Boots/Ribbon - B93, B95, B97
Flowers - YG67, YG45, B91

Copics Used:

Dress - R81, R83, R85
Hair/Boots -  E31, E33, E35, E37
Flowers - YG45, YG41, R81, E50

Copics Used:

Dress - BG01, BG02, BG05
Hair/Boots - E71, E74, E77
Dress Trim - RV91, RV93 and some clear Kindy Glitz
Flowers - BG93, BG96, RV91, RV93, RV95

....with all the bling on these cards I thought I might enter Challenge # 121 - Charms and Bling at Magnolia Downunder Challenges - rather great timing for my weekend's work!! ;)


To celebrate 20 years of Copic Markers in Australia and New Zealand, and to thank all the Copic users, COPIC AUSTRALIA have established a rewards program. Mad for Markers is a Copic Rewards Partner - be sure to check out the store for all the details.....this is the perfect time to add some new colours to your own Copic Collection.

2 Cards - 2 Challenges

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, was going to spend my day off playing in my happy room.....and I did! I decided it was time to get myself back into some online card challenges and of course I chose to play with my favourite images - the Magnolia Stamp Cuties and the wonderful Mo Manning Digital Characters.

Challenge #120 at Magnolia Downunder is "Shhh - It's a Secret" where we were asked to hide something within our creation. I chose to use Nurse Tilda and Doctor Edwin and "partially" hid them in  a little pocket in the front of a Get Well card. This was such a fun challenge, I really enjoyed giving this creation an interactive component - hopefully it will put a smile on the face of the recipient :)

I used my warm grey Copics to colour in their scrubs - W1, W3 and W5. I like the distressed look but then again my medical friends would probably prefer crisp white uniforms. LOL!!

Challenge #106 at Mo's Digital Challenge is Any Holiday or Celebration the perfect opportunity to get a start on my Christmas cards. Little Elf Mim is one of Mo's most popular images and you can see why! - this little Elf is very Cute and ever so Cheeky. I think I need to download the rest of the Elves in this series!

Copics Used:

Skin: E000, E00, E11 / Cheeks R20
Ornament - Y21, Y23, Y26
Pants & Stripes in Hat - R24, R27, R29
Top & Shoes - G03, G05, G07

I used Polar White flower soft for all the white fluffy trimmings. The sentiment is something quirky I came up with LOL! and generated on my computer using the font CKJournalling.

Well it is back to work for me tomorrow and already I am having withdrawals from my craft room.

ATC's - a new addicition!

Artist Trading Cards have always intrigued me! - everytime I have attended an Art Show or Craft Fair  I have admired these miniature pieces of Art Work...and wondered what it would be like to create my own. Just recently a lovely group of "Scrappy Friends"  decided to begin their own little ATC swap group and I accepted an invitation to join them. Wow! - what  a world of new discoveries did that open up for me! I "googled" ATC's and was simply "blown away" with all the inspiration to be found - mini oil paintings, paper folding, digital, and mixed media art work all done on a 2.5" x  3.5" base - just amazing!! The first challenge was to adapt myself to working on this surface size....very different to my 12 x 12 Scrapbook pages and the large square cards I use for cardmaking. The second challenge, was the theme for our first  ATC swap - "Shabby Chic Christmas" - eeeks!! I love the look of Shabby Chic but find it so hard to master...but I gave it a go....and here "blog readers" is my 1st ever ATC!!

I know it looks a little more vintage in appearance than Shabby Chic - but I am pretty happy for my first attempt. My background paper is called "Brown Sugar" - the music print is from Kaisercraft's Vintage Timeless collection - sprayed with "Coffee Shop" Glimmer Mist and inked with "Antique Linen" Distress ink. The little pearls in the centre of the snowflakes were coloured with a Copic Marker R37 to match my red paper.

As soon as I finished making this ATC - I was hooked.. and couldn't wait to do another one....so I'm all organised and have December's Swap Theme of "Anything Goes" finished - LOL!!

I adapted to working in miniature a little easier the second time around, even enjoyed cutting up tiny strips of patterned paper. The papers are all from my Creative Memories stash :) - the pink twine is from Jillibean Soup and the edges were inked with "Tempting Turquoise" from Stampin'Up.

Both ATC's have now been packaged up and sent off to our Swap Co-ordinator - can't wait to see what awaits me in return!!??

....and while I was experimenting with the Shabby Chic theme. I decided to create this card.... be sure to check it out at the Mad for Markers Blog for info on all the embellishments that I coloured in using my "treasured" Copic Markers :)

Tomorrow is a public holiday for the racing of the Melbourne Cup... famously termed the "horse race that stops a Nation" - I plan to spend my day in my "happy room" surrounded by paper, photos, stamps, copics etc!

Enjoy!

Time to Share the "Love"

...love of Copics that is!!

I often get asked what is the most favourite thing I love about my Copics - and it really is a tough question to answer! I love the vast colour range, I love how easy they are to blend, I love their versatility - I love.....yes the list goes on an on. However, I truly just love colouring in with them. As you are aware I have a passion for all sorts of Arts & Crafts but there is something very therapeutic about colouring. I find colouring very relaxing . I often have heaps of images stamped out on my X-Press IT Blending Card ready to go and when life gets tough I reach for them... and my 'beloved' Copics and have some good old chill-out time. I have been doing that a lot lately LOL!... and finally got to spend some time the last few days, making these coloured images into cards - here is a couple I thought I would share.

This is 'Hip Hop' girl  a 'Hanglar Stanglar' image coloured with my favourite shades of Pink - R81, R83, R85 & Blue - B91, B93, B95. I consider these a "must-have" in any Copic Collection.
 
The gorgeous pink embossed paper used for this card is from Kaisercrafts Paper Pad Miss Nelly and the beautiful paper flowers are by "Hooked on Craft" available from Karen & friends at scrap2relax - a very apt name for a store considering today's post LOL!!


The sentiment I made up and printed out on my computer using the font CK Journalling ( another favourite! )

..and this sweet 'Lily of the Valley' stamp is sure to cheer anyone up - that teddy-bear is so stinkin' cute! Mr Teddy was coloured with E31, E33, E35 and E37 - his rosey cheeks were courtesy of a little more R83 and his caring Nurse was coloured in with Warm Greys - W1, W3 and W5 and Red - R22, R24, R27
 
I made this card using the "Gertie" papers from My Minds Eye Stella Rose collection by Jen Allyson and another sentiment I made up myself.




I hope you get to have yourself some "chill-out" time this week with your favourite Copic colours and don't forget to check out the whole colour range available at Mad for Markers

Enjoy

I'm Back!!

....did you miss me??? - my apologies for taking so long to get back to the "world of blogging". The winter plays havoc with my "mo-jo" I find it so hard to get motivated when it is so cold and miserable...but I have managed some creative time. The past few months I have been busy doing some design work for Creative Memories and have been out and about teaching some scrapbooking ideas to consultants...it's been fun, but it is now time to get myself back into the "happy room" and spend some time with my Copics and my Camera!

There is no doubt Spring is my favourite time of the year - I love days filled with warm sunshine and a garden in full bloom. I thought I would share these photos of my cherry blossom - a beautiful sight to behold, when I open my curtains in the morning :)

I spent last weekend with some of my favourite scrapping buddies and this is one of the cards I created.

....when I first saw Mermaid Marci from La-La Land Craft Stamps I knew instantly that I wanted to give her beautiful mermaid tail, a shimmery look and with a bit of experimenting, I am really pleased with the effect I was able to achieve. I started by colouring the tail in with BG11, BG13, BG15 and my usual method of shading. Then over the top of this colouring I applied a thin coat of Tim Holtz Perfect Pearls ( Berry Twist mixed with water ) and finished it all off, by tracing over the tail image (scales) with clear Spica Pen. The effect was a little difficult to photograph, but if you have ever seen the children's book The Rainbow Fish this tail has the same wonderful shiny foil appearance :) I can't wait, to try this technique again, it would be perfect for all my princess & fairy themed stamps!



Copics Used:


Skin - E000, E00, E11 - Cheeks/Lips - R20
Hair - E31, E33, E35
Top & Star - R81, R83, R85
Tail - BG11, BG13, BG15 / Clear Spica Pen

...well now I am a back and the "mo-jo" is returning.... stay tuned for more regular posting :)