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

Happy Easter

I hope you are all enjoying the Easter break, spending time with your family, eating lots of chocolate eggs and finding time for a little Copic colouring.

I am sharing some of my Easter themed projects with you today... firstly a little pillow gift box (filled with chocolate of course!!) and a card...both created with some sweet Magnolia images from the 2011 Butterfly Dreams Collection..."Tilda holding Egg Basket" and "Tilda & her Bunny" the fence is from a previous Spring collection from Magnolia.

Copics Used:
Happy Easter Pillow
Skin - E00, E11, E000 - Cheeks - R20
Hair & Boots - E31, E33, E35
Basket - E33, E35, E37
Dress - R81, R83, R83 - W3 - Colourless Blender
Easter Eggs - Y21, Y23, R35, R32, G00, G02, B00, B01, YR07 YR00, B91, B93, YG03, YG00

Forever Friends Card
Skin - E00, E11, E000 - Cheeks - R20
Fence & Boots - E31, E33, E35
Hair - E33, E35, E37
Hat - Y21, Y23, Y26
Top & Ribbon - RV91, RV93, RV95
Pants - B91, B93, B95
Daffodils - Y21, Y23, YR07, YG93, YG95, YG97

The sky and grass were airbrushed with B21, YG93 using the Air Brush System Set 1 it is a complete set ready to use. It comes with the Airgrip, Aircan 180 (approx.40mins of air ), the Air Adapter, Airhose and Can Holder and is available to order online in the Mad for Markers store http://www.madformarkers.com.au/....and those gorgeous little paper daffodils were purchased last weekend at http://www.scrap2relax.com.au/ - thanks to my friends there for suggesting them - I already "need" more LOL!! They also mentioned that I "really need" some Liquid Pearls for my card making too...so I came away with 3 different colours of that too!! Miss Tilda here is wearing some Ranger Liquid Pearls in Bisque as earrings in this card - just to add a touch of sophistication - he he!

I also want to share another card I made for Easter using Bonnie from Spesch Designer Stamps - she is so cute and with her precious little bunny  is the perfect image for your Easter friendship cards.

Copics Used:
Skin - E00, E11, E000 - Cheeks - R20
Hair - E13, E15, E17
Dress - V12, V15, V17
Ribbon & Trim - BG11, BG13, BG15
Bunny - R20, W1, W3

I added some texture to the dress by dabbing a scrap piece of fabric with some colourless blender ink and pressing it over the coloured image.....I love all the fun things you can do with the colourless blender... make sure you add one to your next Mad for Markers order, if you don't already have it in your Copic Collection.


..and if you have some inspirational and/or creative ideas using Copic Markers.... submissions are now open for Copicendium ... a mini-magazine/ ideas booklet to be produced by Mad for Markers - devoted solely to the use of Copic Markers...

A "Distressing" Good Time

I did say I would be back today with a few more cards to show you....remember?? I said I was spending the weekend with my BFF... and she was going to introduce me to something new -  well not really "something new" but something I hadn't played with before! I had a lesson in the variety of uses for Distress Inks - it was fun to get my embossing powders and heat gun out again..... and rediscover the huge stash of stamps I have collected over the years - and shhh!! don't tell anyone but I did find some stamps and inks that I had never used - they were still  wrapped in their packaging!!  ;) I did enjoy creating some different looking cards but this form of card making is a lot messier than my beloved Copics and not nearly as theraputic as colouring-in....but it makes for a nice change now & then....and I can see myself playing a bit more with them.

These are two of the cards I made....

and a closer look at "You Amaze Me"

The stamp set I used is For The Luv of Art "La Mode" Stamp set - available here online at http://www.fortheluvofart.com/ForTheLoveofArtLaModeStampSet.aspx The flourish in the corner is from a SU set called "Baroque Motifs" - the pink patterned paper is from Echo Park's Love Letter range - I used some "Old Paper" Distress Ink to tone down the brightness of the pink.....the other ink colours I used were "Victorian Velvet", "Peeled Paint" and "Walnut Stain" all from the Tim Holtz Ranger Ink range.

...and "Thankyou"

....this card was created with a selection of my "Stampin' Up" stash the only name I can remember is the background stamp - "French Script". I embossed the flower and leaves with clear detail embossing powder and used "Antique Lined", "Bundled Sage",  "Walnut Stain" and "Tattered Rose" to create my background. The pink spotted paper is from the "Chicks Rock" collection by "Three Bugs in a Rug" - really cool girly papers in this range!

As we enter into the Easter weekend and the prediction of rain, I expect you will find me in my "happy room" playing with Paper, Ink, Stamps and Copics - stay tuned!!.... to see what I come up with LOL!!

Think Spring

While it may not be Spring here in the land downunder - the days here are starting to get dark and dreary. Therefore I thought it would be the perfect time to  introduce some sunshine and happiness to our days.
This is a new Digital Kit Collaboration - by the "Sugar Girls" over at http://www.sugarhillco.com/  called "Think Spring"

No surprises that I LOVE the colour scheme of this kit!! LOL!....here is a digi layout of my two favourite girls that I created with this scrumptious kit!!

....and a card I created for my friend Jacinta's birthday - combining the kit with my beloved Copic Markers.

Copics Used:

Skin - E00, E21, E51
Cheeks - R20 and White Pen
Dress - R22, R32, R35
Hair - Shoes - E31, E33, E35
Balloon - Y21, Y23, Y26

...for more info on this Digi Kit visit - http://angelhartline.com/blog/ or http://www.sugarhillco.com/ and for all your Copic Marker supplies - http://www.madformarkers.com.au/

I'll be back tomorrow - with some of the goodies I made over the weekend!!

Some Digital Mo-Jo!

I was first introduced to digital stamps about 12 months ago and while there were so many wonderful designers with gorgeous images to choose from....I couldn't quite bring myself to give up the rubber, ink and smudgy mistakes LOL!! However, this week my card making mo-jo has been in full swing and I've been colouring up a storm with the delightful images of illustrator Mo Manning...and having so much FUN!! You can find this fabulous collection of digital stamps here http://www.mosdigitalpencil.com/

I've always been a bit of a fairy fan and these little cuties were hard to resist. Of course I reached for my favourite colour combination of Pink and Green to use with them. I use my Copics R81, R83 and R85 so much that they are in need of a refill ;)

This is "Fairy Kiki " and I used my airbrush system to add some sky -  B21 and grass - YG45 - isn't she adorable?? - I am also entering this in the current challenge over at http://mosdigitalchallenge.blogspot.com/ which is create a project using a image that depicts "something new".

This is "Birthday Fairy Lee" and she is the perfect excuse for splashing around a bit of glitter....I used my "pink" and "blossom" coloured spica pens and some kindy glitz on this card....and that ever favourite colour scheme LOL!!

...the purchase of this image "What's Cooking" was a fund raiser for the Earthquake Disaster in Japan and I so had to add it to my collection - the aqua blue and red colour combo is a little bit of a different look for me but I think I'm ready to experiment with it a bit more after making this card. The blue is from the BG range of Copic colours BG11, BG13, BG15 and the reds are R32, R35, R37

When I discovered the Mo Manning images, I also did some blog hopping of her DT and came across Debbie Pamment a talented Aussie card maker - http://debbiepsplace.blogspot.com/
Her card of Miss "Veronica" was my inspiration for this sassy 50th Birthday card for a friend and I love how it turned out - thanks Debbie!!

...and I do apologise for the quality of my photos in this post - it has been dark, dreary and raining here this week and my natural light has been a bit wanting - time to build me a light box I think!! ;)
 I will be spending this weekend with my BFF who is also a papercraft junkie - so stay tuned.....I'm sure I will have lots of new creations to share with you over the next few days.