Magnolia Down Under Challenge #161

This week at Magnolia Down Under Challenges we are asking you to be "All Stitched Up" - so use real or faux stitching on your project. I haven't pulled my sewing machine out for a while so once I did I decided to go a little crazy and do some free-arm stitching to add texture to the background of the circular panel. I then sat Tilda doing her own bit of sewing in front of it. I also stitched the edges of the other panels.

The DP I used is designed our very own MDUC teamie Denise and is available from Meg's Garden. The chipboard elements I used - (the bird and birdcage, and Tilda's seat) - are from Scrapmatts.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the amazing inspiration from the MDUC DT on our BLOG.

Copics Used - Skin (E21, E11, E000, R20, R11) plus E57, E55, E53, YR31, YR30, R24, G24, T4, T0

Make It Crafty Tutorial Release Blog Hop

Zoe's excited to be releasing another colouring tutorial and it is on a topic that everyone always seems to want to improve... 'Colouring long hair in fine detail!'

When Zoe was trying to decide on an image that would be perfect for this tutorial she just knew she had to contact the gorgeous Krista Smith from Saturated Canary. And... excitingly Krista has illustrated and generously donated the perfect character exploding with big luscious hair full of layers and bumps! Just perfect for you to learn all of Zoe's little secrets to colouring finely detailed hair.

We thought it would be fun to have a little hop (and a few give aways of course) where the fabulous MiC girls and Krista have followed Zoe's tips and tricks to colouring long straight hair.

The major thing to remember is - we ALL colour differently and once you've popped your image onto some pretty papers and embellished it everything looks a little bit different and the overall effect is what you want on your finished project - so don't be discouraged - we're all on a constant learning curve.

I know mine doesn't look anything like Zoe's - although there are glimpses of single strands if you look really close. The main thing is I tried it out and it is a technique that requires practice practice practice. I need to lighten my heavy handed approach to the "flicks" so I don't end up blending what I have done to soften the look. But at least by trying I know what I need to concentrate on next time!

Here is the hop list in case there are some broken links along the way.....

1. Alyce
2. Debbie {ME}
3. Franz
4. Sheila
5. Krista
6. Delphine
7. Sandie
8. Julie
9. Ruby
10. Tracy
11. JennD
12. Zoe

Copics used - (I have gone for different colours to Zoe)

Skin - E21, E11, E000, R20, R11

Lips -  R24, R11

Hair - 100, E29, E08, YR04, YR00

Plus - W5, W3, W2, G24, G21, G20, R39

DP is designed by my friend Denise Ann and available from Meg's Garden (mini papers)

Buttons and Bows in La La Land

This week at La La Land Crafts we are using buttons and bows on our creations. I had this idea to use the Carousel svg cut file from LLLC and turn it into a stage for Ballerina Marci. Once I started I thought it would be pretty cute to set up a little chorus-line of Marci's - and I must admit I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out. I didn't use the decorative panels from the carousel cut file as I thought it would look more like a stage without them.

I used a die to create my bow and centre a button in the middle, and then created a sentiment/sign for my little ballet class.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the fabulous inspiration from the LLLC DT on our BLOG.

La La Land Products -
Ballerina Marci

Carousel SVG File

Bow Die from Lil Inkers Designs

Copics Used

Skin - E21, E11, E000, R20, R11

Clothes - R22, R20, R00, R000, W3, W2, W00

Dark Hair - E57, E37, E35

Medium Hair - E35, E33, E31, E08

Light Hair - Y21, E53, E33, E11

Time for Some Christmas Fun

With September fast approaching I hate to say but there have been Christmas decorations starting to appear in some of our shops - aaaaagh! I must admit it gave me a scare and made me realise it was time to start making my Christmas cards! Of course Mo Manning's adorable ornament elves have always been a favourite of mine so were the perfect place to start. This little guy is Little Elf Finn.

I've framed him with a lasercut chipboard clock from Scrapmatts and I used the clock hands to embellish the bottom corner. The red branches are also from Scrapmatts and add a fun dimension to my project.

Copics used - Skin (E21, E11, E000, R20, R11) plus E44, E43, E42, E40, C2, C00, R39, R27, R22, G28, G24, G21, G20, YR27, Y35

Mo Manning's Parade

I just love this little gal, she's by Mo Manning and is called Waiting for the Parade. With the recent Olympic Games we've seen a lot of flag waving and excited kids and it just seemed like a fun time to colour her up while I was still in the groove. I paper pieced the doll's flag and pinwheel and cut a matching 3D mini pinwheel  using a die from Lil Inker Designs to embellish my card. 

Copics Used - Skin (E11, E00, E000, R20, R11) plus B97, B34, B21, R85, R39, R27, YR31, E50, E33, E31, C2, C0, C00

Yellow, White and Grey in La La Land

This week in La La Land we are using yellow, white and grey to work with. When I saw the colour combo it reminded me of the colours of my children's primary school uniforms so I decided to create accordingly. I have also been wanting to give the "no lines" technique another outing. The softness this technique gives the image is so worth the extra effort it takes to colour - it's amazing how much we rely in those dark lines for guidance and to differentiate between the areas. To achieve this look you need to use a pale ink for stamping or - if you're using a digi image - you have to edit the colour of the lines to a light grey before printing.

Don't forget to check out the La La Land Crafts Blog for more amazing inspiration from the DT.

La La Land Products

Backpack Marci

Heart Tree Die (used as a doily)

Copics Used 

Skin - W2, E11, E00, E000, R83, R20, R11

Hair - E43, E42, E41, E40

Clothes - W7, W5, W3, W2, W00, YR23, Y19, Y11, Y08

Bag - E43, E42, E41, W5, W2, W1

Apple - G24, G21, R27, R22, R17

Birthday Boy

As soon as I saw this cutie from Make it Crafty I knew he was a "have to have". I really need more fabulous boy images in my collection and he is just fabulous - I love the way he seems to be popping out of the page. His name is "Peter Peek-a-Boo" for obvious reasons. He reminded me of the way I used to hide away when it was time for people to sing Happy Birthday to me - I even ended up under the table in tears on occasion - LOL.

I have been wanting to make one of these candle cards for a LOOOOOONG time and was amazed how easy it was - although I had to change the candle box dimensions to fit my novelty candles. 

And here he is with the candles in the "cake". A little trick - a couple of the holes I cut for the candles were too big to hold the candle up straight - so I squeezed some Tombow mono multi glue (in the green and white bottle) into the holes and let it dry. This glues dries clear but tacky so it adds a bit of grip to keep the candles in place.

You can find the tutorial for this style of card HERE.

Make it Crafty Image - Peter Peek-a-Boo

Copics used - Skin (E11, E00, E000, R20, R11) plus E19, E08, YR07, YR04, YR02, B97, B34, B32, G40, G28, G24, G21, G20, R39, W2, W1, W00

Mo's Dream Team Blog Hop

This month's theme for our Dream Team Blog Hop is brought to you by the fabulous Pops - and her Blog is the start of all the fun. Pops is asking us to use "Summer Tones" for our creations. If you are already hopping along you should have landed here from Alice's Blog.

Luckily for me the Summer fashions are just starting to appear in the shops as we head towards our Aussie Spring and I've noticed pastels seem to be the order of the day! So I decided to take my inspiration from that colour palette. I chose one of Mo's ADORABLE 3 Baby Fairies to use - these cuties in their skimpy little outfits are perfect to depict a hot Summer's day in the garden.

And now it's time to hop on over for some more fun in the sun on Mina's Blog.

Blog Hop order (links can be found under Mo's logo on my left sidebar)
Pops, Jak, Gretha, Kerttu, Jane, Julie, Debby.Y, Heidy, Alice, Debbie,Mina

Copics used - Skin (E11, E00, E000, R20, R11) plus V01, V0000, RV63, RV10, RV00, RV000, Y21, Y08, Y000, E53, E33, YR31, YR30, G28, BG0000

Tickled Pink Stamps is Sponsoring ABC Challenges

This week Tickled Pink Stamps is proudly sponsoring ABC Challenges where this week "V for Vanish" - there needs to be something hidden on your creation. 

I decided to hide away my sentiment and used Lil Hauts Ghost Willow on the front. The card is a gate fold card but when you open it up the "curtains" open up the the circle and the missing sentiment appears. I know this type of card has a specific name but can't think of it for the life of me!

 Here you can see the sentiment appearing as the card opens and the "curtains" are drawn.

And here you can see the sentiment is revealed now the card is fully open. And there's a spot to write a message below. It was so much fun to create something a little different and my son is having a heap of fun opening and closing it - nice to see him admiring my work for a change - LOL.

Copics Used - Skin (E02, E000, R22, R11) plus E44, E43, E42, E41, E40, B06, B05, B02, B00, B000, B0000 

Framing Mini World Magnolias with Scrapmatts

When I saw these gorgeous layered frames from Scrapmatts I just KNEW I wanted to use one of them with some Mini World Magnolias and how cute do they look sitting on the ledge?!?!?! The frames were easily coloured with copics, white ink and a gel pen to give each section definition - and a small piece of DP was added to the base piece before the rest of the frame was put together.

And now for a cheeky trick I used - I didn't have enough of this DP to cut out the backing piece for the frame as well as for the card back so I worked out my layout and cut a piece out - if you pull everything off the front of the card you would find a rectangular hole hidden by the flowers, frame and doily! I often do this sort of thing with the backing card - cutting out a matching shape with my nesties to frame and image.

Copics used - Skintones (E11, E00, E000, R20, R11) plus E44, E43, E42, E40, R89, R85, R83, R81, C5,C4, C2, C00, B97, B34, B21, G24