Mad for Markers blog

Saturday Sharing

2012-01-28T06:40:00.000+11:00

Happy Weekend Copic Lovers,

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, a couple I am sharing with you today.

This is Digger Marci, she is a relatively new release from La La Land Crafts Stamps - designed especially for us Aussies.

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.

I also made a discovery when colouring this image and I want to share that today too :)....just in case it had slipped your attention, as it had mine! When I opened the packaging of my Digger Marci stamp, I noticed there was a "bar-code" on the back that said "scan for Copic Marker colours used". I have often looked at the packaging image and wondered what colours were used and if I could reproduce the same look.... and well, now I can! - how cool is that? All you need to do is download the QRReader app to your iphone ( it is available in android as well ) scan the code and up pops a document with the list of Copics used....isn't technology wonderful?!

...so next time I colour my Digger Marci stamp, I can refer to this reference and experiment with some colours I may not have, neccessarily chosen - love this option! * Please note - not all the packaging of these stamps have this option, but you will find most of the newer releases, do have this feature.

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

....and I just couldn't wait 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 and the sentiment was also printed on my computer.

We 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,

Chris x

Something new...

2012-01-27T11:17:00.000+11:00

Good morning Copic lovers, Rachael here for today's post. After some nice celebrations yesterday to celebrate Australia Day, the weather has turned completely miserable, but it is the perfect colouring weather. With the current challenge over on the Mad For Markers Challenge blog, I decided to challenge myself too and try a couple of different colour combinations. My Mad For Markers Copic Journal is just perfect to trying new colour combinations and also a great place to keep a list of new colour combinations I may stumble across blog hopping. Today I'm sharing two new combinations, one for blonde hair and one for skin. I'm really loving the blonde hair colour combo... think I will be using this one again.

Stamp: La La Land Birthday Marci

Mad For Markers Copic Journal

I hope that I have inspired you to give it a go, if I have leave a comment and I will pop on over to your blog and check it out.
Till next time, happy colouring
Rach xo

I am Famous!!!

2012-01-26T09:31:00.000+11:00

Ok so maybe not Famous, but pretty close...hehe! I was lucky enough to have 3 of my cards accepted to be published early last year and FINALLY yesterday the magazine was released and there were my cards.....YAY! I have to say that everyone was home when my son brought the mail in and so when we realized that it was THE magazine we ripped it open and of course there they were. There were high 5's going everywhere...hehe!

So below is a pic of them in the magazine.

And here are the individual cards

Copic Colors Used:

Ian

Hair - E50, E51, E53

Skin - E11, E00, E000, R20

Suit - E41, E42, W1, W3, W5, W7, W9, R22, R224

Flower - R20, R22, YG17, YG13, YG11

Anya

Hair - E79, E37, E35, E31

Skin - R02, R01, R000, R20

Dress- E43, E42, E41

Flowers - YG17, YG13, YG11, R20, R22, R24

Copic Colors Used:

Hair - E79, E37, E35, E31

Suit - E44, E43, E42, E41, YG97, YG95, YG93

Skin - E000, E00, E11, R20

Flower - YG17, YG13, YG11, C1, C00

Copic Colors Used:

Hair - E79, E37, E35, E31

Dress - E43, E42, E41, E40

Vail - W1, W00

Flowers - R20, R22, R24, R02, R12. YG11, YG13, YG17

Skin - E11, E00, E000, R20

I have used the Anya and Ian 'I Do' set, by The Greeting Farm, which is currently out of stock at the Mad For Markers store, but if you drop Sammi and email she will be able to order you one in!

Now don't forget too that Sammi has some Gorgeous Australia Day Freebie Images that she is giving away, just drop her an email with the one that you want! Just have a look at our Special Australia Day Blog header to see which of the images you want!

So I hope all in Australia have a fantastic Australia Day and if your not in Australia have an Awesome day where ever you are!

Australia Day freebies to colour

2012-01-26T00:08:00.003+11:00

Just a quick note to say HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!!! In honour of this I have drawn up some images and am giving all who email me an image of their choice... see the updated temporary header above!!!

Tutorial Tuesday :: Alicia colours Blush Babette

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000+11:00

How I coloured Blush Babette (from The Greeting Farm using these Copic colours:

Skin: E00, E11, R20

Hair: YR20, E31, E35

Greens: YG03, YG23, YG00

Skin

1. Colour the whole face, arms and legs with E00.

2. Trace the shadows with E11.

3. Colour the whole face, legs and arms again with E00.

4. Add some R20 to her cheeks and then blend with E00.

Hair

5. Trace the outlines on the front section of her hair with E35.

6. Use a flicking motion to flick into the centre of the fringe leaving white spaces.

7. Continue the flicking motion with E31, going over the E35 and further in onto the white.

8. Continue the flicking motion with YR20, going over the E31 and further in onto the white.

Still leave a bit of white space not coloured.

9. Enhance the fringe by going back over the lines and dark flicks with the E35.

10. Follow exactly the same process with the two top sections of the hair with the E35, then the E31 and then the YR20.

11. Follow the same procedure for the long parts of her hair.

Leave white spaces where the light would be.

12. Add in some E31.

13. Add in some YR20.

14. Go back over the darker bits with E35.

Dress

15. Trace the pleat lines with YG23.

16. Go over the YG23 and further onto the white with YG03.

17. Go over the YG03 and further onto the white with YG00. Leave some white spaces.

18. Trace the dots in the bow and the hemline with YG23.

19. Colour the bow and hemline with YG00.

Socks and Shoes

20. Use tiny flicking motions with the YG23 on the outsides of the socks and shoes.

21. Use tiny flicking motions with the YG03 covering the YG23 and going further into the white.

22. Use tiny flicking motions with the YG00 going over both green colours, but still leaving a tiny bit of white.

Here she is finished and on a card!

Alicia xx

Mondays Message Board

2012-01-23T13:47:00.003+11:00

Good afternoon... Just popping on to share some news... This week I am pleased to introduce you to Tara ... who has joined our Challenge blog team!! Please pop by her blog to check out her lovely creations ... she has a very clean and simple style to her cardmaking and I can't wait to see her M4M DT work ... Here is a little peek at her first Challenge creation - to appear on the challenge blog this Thursday!!

Now... we have another DT spot on the challenge blog to fill! Are you interested??? Please send an email to sales@madformarkers.com.au WITH a link to your blog/ online gallery .. and we will get back to you ASAP! :D

Pop back here tomorrow as there is a great tutorial scheduled which I think you will all LOVE!

Happy Colouring!
Sammi

Different skin tones

2012-01-20T09:00:00.002+11:00

Hello hello everyone. What a wonderful break I had and I am back.

I thought I would start this year off with an age old question. What skin tone colours do you use...?? Some people like using the light and other the dark. I kind of like the in between colours but from time to time I will do the others. I have coloured three images for you today to show you the differences in the skin. The colours used are under the image. Please click on the photo to see a larger view.

As you can see from left to right the change in tones. The middle one is the one I typically use but will from time to time do the E00 as the base colour. It is always a personal preference for anyone and sometimes you may not have the colours I have used in any of the three. What do you all think...?? What is your preference...?? Let us know.

Zentangle Doodling and a Surfer Ian Birthday Card

2012-01-19T11:36:00.001+11:00

Hi all

How many of you doodle when you are on the phone or sat thinking lol! Today I would like to show you my first time at Zentangle using Copic Multiliners available from The Mad for Markers Store. The colours are part of a set Cobalt, Olive, Sepia and Wine nib 0.3.

A Birthday sentiment

A flower using olive and wine

A heart border using black

I thought I would colour the Birthday Greeting in bold colours that I wouldn't normally put together, which fits in with our New Colour Combo Challenge this month. Pop over and see what gorgeous coloured creations the DT have created as well as the gorgeous entries so far.

Copics and Multi liners used

And finally A Birthday card for Morgan's Birthday on Sunday he will be a teenager (13)

Copics used to colour Surfer Ian available from the Mad for Markers Store

+ B0000, B000, B00, B01, B02 for the background around the sentiment, it looked too white

Have you heard about the Copic celebrating 20 years in Australia, there is a reward system happening until 30th June 2012 for copic markers and refils bought they carry points, then you can choose a gift that reflects your points, I'm saving for this AWESOME Copic Carry Case. Full details here

Thank you for visiting, happy colouring and doodling lol! Take careX:)

Crushin Gwen

2012-01-18T11:46:00.004+11:00

Good morning! Just thought I would show you another of the new Valentines stamps from Some Odd Girl!! This is Crushin Gwen... you can buy her now from the M4M store HERE!

What colours did I use??
Well.. I didn't record the browns sorry.. I'm sure there are some E20s, E30s and E50s though!
Skin: E000, E01, E11, RV00
Dress: RV00, RV63, RV66

Hop on over to our challenge blog for some NEW colour combinations from the DT and to link up your own "new colour combinations" for the year! :D

Oddly Romantic

2012-01-17T13:01:00.003+11:00

Hello everyone ... Apologies for the delay in posting! This week I am going to schedule a few posts up so they will automatically appear without me coming on to post them! Let's see how that goes!! And from now on we will be going back to Tuesdays being Tutorial Tuesday.. there are a few in the pipeline .. if there are any tutorials you would like to see then please let me know! For now ... I am Just popping on to share with you a card I made using Romantic Gwen... she is one of the new Valentines stamps from some Odd Girl - you can get them now in the Mad for Markers store .. oh and they are great as you can use them for OTHER creations too.. not just Valentines creations!

The colours I used are: E000, E01, E11, RV00, R24, R46, R59, T5, T7, T10, E74, E77, E79, R81, R83, R85 + Copic Opaque white

Saturday Sharing

2012-01-14T10:13:00.001+11:00

Happy Saturday Copic Lovers!

I am sharing two cards with you today, both were inspired by this photo of my daughter and her friend.

The photo is from my Project 365 and 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.

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

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 our 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 Copic Rewards Program.

Happy Colouring,

Chris x

Monochromatic Colouring–Sepia

2012-01-13T10:00:00.000+11:00

Today I am going to share with you some monochromatic colouring, in sepia tones. Colouring in Sepia tones is something I really enjoy doing, as it challenges me to get a great depth out of just a few colours. For sample 1 below, I have used the following markers;

Skin: E000, E00
Hair: E31, E33, E35, E37

Dress: E30, E31

This colour combination gives me more of an orangey-kind of look. But the second colour combination that I like using for Sepia, is much darker, and has a much warmer feel to it being more brown.

Markers used for sample number 2, are as follows;

Skin: E40, E41

Hair: E40, E43, E44, E47

Dress: E40, E42, E43
When working monochromatically, I find that I need to do a bit of thinking before I start colouring, to be sure that I know where my lightest and darkest areas so I don’t build up too much colour in my lightest areas, otherwise eventually it would all just look the same. I even find that sometimes I split the colours I want to use into 3 groups – lights, midtones, darks.
Till next time Happy Colouring, Rachael.

Feeling a Little Blue!

2012-01-12T13:47:00.002+11:00

This week over on the M4M Challenge blog the girls are all trying out some new color combo's, so I thought I would have a go. I ALWAYS go for my pink copic markers, so I thought it was time I tried a few different colors. So for this Odd Girl Stamp I have used my Blue Copics, not my usual go to colors But I am happy with the outcome!

You can get all your Odd Girl Stamps from the Mad For Markers store. I have just started to color with these girls and they are soooo much fun to color, I am definitely going to have to get more of these Stamps! Hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas Holidays. My hubby goes back to work on Monday so it will be back to the routine before you know it!

Have a Great Day and Happy Coloring!

Mondays Messages from Mad for Markers

2012-01-09T08:48:00.004+11:00

Good morning, I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend! Did you get some Copic colouring done? I have been busily colouring up some images that I can't show you yet as they are for upcoming releases for some digi stamp companies... stay tuned :D I have also been "practicing" my drawing and have decided to do a drawing a day to try and improve ... this involves sketching an image, inking the sketch with a multiliner and then colouring it with Copics! An example is below.... **Freebie image to colour available on request**

FIRSTLY - Some News ::

The 12 new sketch colours are being ordered THIS week.. so if you would like some then please let me know ASAP (preferably today).

Copicendium 1 & 2 are available now for you to purchase ... we are currently working on Copicendium #3 - if you would like to submit a creation for this edition then please email sales@madformarkers.com.au :) We would love some Birthday, Summery or Valentines creations!

Dates: We are currently making plans for what's happening at M4M this year... we are looking to set some Bexley - Sydney class dates ... if you are interested then please email us...
Elsewhere - if you are interested in a class in your home (with a group of your friends) then please send an email and we will see what we can organise.
In Melbourne - I am looking to run a day of workshops / colouring in Melbourne this year.. just need to work out details... would you be interested???

Ok enough news for today :) Here are my sketches and finished image for you to see... I have done this practice drawing in one of my little M4M journals (A6 size made from Xpress It blending card) ....

# 1 - rough sketch with graphite pencil

#2 - after being sort of happy with it I inked the image with a 0.1mm black multiliner and erased the pencil lines completely...

and then I brought her to life with COLOUR :D By colouring her with my beloved Copics...

Copics used: E42, W4, W00, B91, B95, B97, E31, E33, E35, E37, B02, B04, Y13, Y15, Y19, E000, E01, YR0000, E11, R30, R35, R37, YG17
A6 Xpress It card journals can be bought HERE!

** Freebie image to colour ** I transfered her to my computer and cleaned the image up a bit more on my Wacom.... and she is now in digi form... send me an email and I will send her to you as a jpg or png to colour up!! :)

Miss Anya Garland #1

2012-01-06T13:13:00.003+11:00

Good afternoon! I hope you are all having a great week and a LOVELY start to the new year! Hopefully 2012 will be a beautiful colourful year for all of us!! :)

I am trying to get on track for the year... one day I will be SUPER organised! lol.. how about you? Are you organised? I am in the middle of sorting out orders.. will be off to the post office shortly to send them off.. and then I will do some planning! HOPING to make this blog a little more active this year... what would you like to see here??

Before I go I would like to share this card with you - this week the NEW stamps from The Greeting Farm arrived! whoo and are now IN STOCK HERE! One of these is the new set of Miss Anyas ... Miss Anya Garland - this is one of them on my card below .. along with the heart banner from the Bantastic Clear stamp set - perfect together :D and then the sentiment is also a TGF stamp.. from the Spotlight kit :) I have a few matching cards underway so perhaps will share them soon too!

Copics used:
E00, E21, E11, RV00, R81, R83, R85, RV32, E23, E25, E27, E29, RV09 + opaque white

Happy New Year and a new colour challenge

2012-01-05T11:37:00.000+11:00

Hi all, hope you are well and had a wonderful break with you family/friends, ours was lovely, just a little hot on some days, with a little work in between, have been busy spring cleaning, Edward has made me some new cupboards in the garage so pleased it now looks much tidier to have everything hidden lol!

Our new Mad for Markers Challenge is a 'New Colour Combination' AND we are going back to monthly challenges. My mojo seems to have disappeared so I am going to cheat and show a couple of creations from the past showing what were new colour combos to me then.

Bright Purples and Oranges

Copics

Hair - V12, V15, V17, YR00, YR02, YR04 & 0

Skin & face - E000, E00, B26, R20, & Lilac Spica for the eyeshadow

Choker and dress BV01, BV02, BV04, BV08 & Gold Spica

Spotted Outside, V0000, V000, V01, V12

Blue Green, Orange and Pink

Copics

Skin - E000, E00, E11, R20

Hair - E31, E33, E35, E37, Spica Gold

Dress - R81, R83, R85

Flowers - BG10, BG11, BG13, YR00, YR02, YR04, Spicas Orange and Turquoise

Paper Flowers - BG10, BG11, BG13, YR02, YR04

Dollie - RV06

Some exciting news coming soon 12 new colour sketch markers will be coming soon to our Mad for Markers Store, Sammi will post when they will be available.

We look forward to seeing your new colour combos over at our challenge blog, don't forget to stop by each day there, to see what gorgeous inspiration the DT have for you.

Thank you for stopping by, wishing you all a fun and healthy 2012, take careX:)

Saturday Sharing

2011-12-31T13:31:00.000+11:00

Hello and Happy New Year's Eve to our Copic Lovers!

This card is "Hot off the Press" and my very last for 2011. On behalf of the Mad for Markers team I would like to thank you for your loyal following of our blog and colouring creations. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for joining in on the fun of our blog challenges and sharing your amazing Copic colouring with us throughout the year. We wish you love, happiness and even more Copic fun in 2012.

The sweet little image is called Kisses and is a Mo Mannning digital stamp.

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

Happy New Year!!

Chris x

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T01:00:00.001+11:00

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.. may it be a safe and meaningful time for you celebrating this day with family and friends!!

I Just thought I would share a COPIC journal page I made (it is in the Christmas edition of Copicendium .. which you can order today ON SPECIAL for only $4-)

The image is from Pixie Dust Studio's 15 days of a Pixie Christmas - O is for O Holy Night :)

Thanks for stopping by and for your visits support and purchases this year!!

Sammi

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
-Luke 2:11 -

Spica and copic coloured Vintage Icing Decoration

2011-12-22T10:18:00.000+11:00

Hi all, hope you are all well and not too stressed!!!

Today I have a vintage icing decoration to share, I did have two but the star shape broke. Hoping to fix it lol!! When I get the chance.

I really struggled getting a good photo, but it definately sparkles from using the spicas! I have used them on the outline of the images and to colour too! Some of the embellishments were coloured with copics.

Copics and Spicas used

B28, BG10, BV08, C00, C1, RV66, YR12

Baby Blue, Black, Clear, Garnet, Lilac, Lavender, Lipstick, Melon, Olive, Pitch Black

You still have eight days to enter our current Mad for Markers Christmas Challenge we look forward to seeing your festive creations.

Wishing you all magical Christmas and a fun and healthy 2012, take careX:)

Colouring images for Christmas cards

2011-12-16T16:32:00.004+11:00

How are your Christmas cards going?? do you make your own? Do you colour images or use other stamps ... I always have the best intentions.. wanting to give handmade, handcoloured cards but often then never get finished... anyway, in an attempt to do this ... I have spent the best part of the day colouring images to stick on Christmas cards... and as I always write my colours used on scraps and then lose the scraps I've decided (from seeing others take pics of their markers) that this is a great idea.. so each image gets a pic taken with it.. and I combined this exercise with my love of the Instagram app to create some "arty shots"? Anyway it's a good record of the colours used so later when I photograph the card I will be able to blog which colours I used without having to stretch my memory too far!

whilst sharing some Instagram pics I thought I would show you the mess on my desk as I attempt to complete these creations....

Dingly Dangly holiday

2011-12-14T09:00:00.001+11:00

Morning everyone. It is hump day. Woo hoo. Ahhh I feel exhausted. Just want the silly season to be over. All these activities we are doing this year are very tiring. No matter. I am sure we will get through it in one piece.

Today I have a card made for Mad for Markers using the sketch from The Sweet Stop. I used this gorgeous elf stamp from Digital Pencil. I do love Mo's stamps. This card was made especially for Tyler Prep teacher Miss Spano. He really loves her and he wanted me to make a special card for her. If I have time (yeah right) I might be able to manage a needle felted apple.

Copics used:

Skin: E0000, 00, 11, 02

Bauble: BG10, 11, 23, Kindyglitz

Clothes/Hat: W1, W3, blender, R17, 24, 22, 29

Boots: BG13, 15, 18

leaf: G21, 24, 26 (my own blend)

Background: BG11, 23, clear Spica pen.

Saturday Sharing

2011-12-10T21:19:00.000+11:00

Hello & Happy Weekend to our Copic Lovers !

Today, I thought I would share a card I made as a thank you for a dear friend. I really should be making Christmas cards - yes! I know!... I have left my run a little bit late, but life has been very busy in my part of the world and Christmas preparation hasn't arrived on my agenda yet!! Although, I have to say, I have seen the most beautiful array of Christmas cards etc at the Mad for Markers Challenge Blog. Thankyou to everyone who has participated in the challenge.. your creations are very inspiring :)

...here is my card. The image is a digital stamp called Sophie from Mo Manning and perfect for the senitment, I wanted this card to portray.

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

If you are a little like me??... and still have Christmas cards to make or gifts to purchase - don't forget to check out the Mad for Markers online store - you will find an assortment of cute Christmas Stamps , Volume 2 of Copicendium a mini idea book ( this edition has a focus on Christmas creations ) and don't forget... every purchase of a Copic Marker earns you a token in the Copic Rewards Program.

Chris x

an Odd Saturday hop

2011-12-10T06:47:00.003+11:00

Check out these beautiful previews of SOG stamps coming soon!!!

We have some on order - whoo :)

Ahoy there!

2011-12-08T18:55:00.001+11:00

I love this TGF Oliver stamp, he is such a cutie! I haven't had a chance to use him for a while and when I was asked for a boys card recently I decided to pull him out and ink him up.

This was a card a made for a little boys 1st birthday. Apparently the Mother of the little boy who recieved the card was so happy with the card that she has framed it! Can't say that any of my cards have ever been framed...hehe! Well there's a first for everything!

Copic Colors Used:

Skin - E11, E00, E000

Hair - E29, E27, E25, E23

Clothes - B12, B14, B16, C1, C3

Boots - E37, E35

My card was colored Using Xpress It Blending Card and Copic Sketch Markers, all of which are available over at the Mad For Markers Store.

NEW :: La-La Land Crafts + Ideas booklet

2011-12-06T15:32:00.003+11:00

Just thought I'd pop on with a quick post... letting you know...

1. There are some NEW La-La Land Crafts images now listed in the webstore!!

2. Copicendium #2 is NOW here!!! You can now order yours HERE There are some lovely pieces of art in the ideas booklet which I am sure you will all find very inspiring!!

I've been practising the "no lines" colouring technique.. where you stamp in a very pale ink and then colour the image... This is one of my latest attempts...

Copicendium #2 is on the way...

2011-12-02T09:05:00.003+11:00

Apologies for the long delay in posting here... back on board now hopefully for a while lol!
anyway here with some quick news... Copicendium Vol2 is AT THE PRINTERS ... YAY!!!

So will be here soon... Here's a sneaky peak at the cover... If you would like to preorder yours you can do so now... Click the pic to go to the webstore :)

Christmas Tree Keepsake Baubles/Decoration

2011-11-24T15:06:00.000+11:00

Hi all, today I would like to show you some Keepsake Christmas baubles, one each for Rosanna and Morgan and one for us, one side has a coloured image and the other side is for a photo I hope to take on Christmas day. This is a tradition each year I buy some Christmas decoration so when they leave home they will have a selection of goodies for their own trees.

This is a look at them before I put them in the plastic bauble as it was hard to get a photo without a reflection, you know what I mean lol! The background are the cutouts from some window cards I have made, details over at my blog.

Father Christmas, I have glittered around the edges and here and there lol!

just had to have a purple dressed snowman lol!

This is Santa inside the bauble, I have put the date on the top. I am going to buy some flowersoft, as the sparkly fluff was too fine and give it a snowy ground.

and the two snowmen

Don't forget you still have a day and a half to enter our Anything Goes Challenge here.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Happy Thanksgiving to those of you that celebrate, take careX:)

Red, Purple, Blue

2011-11-23T08:09:00.000+11:00

Oh wow. Christmas is only a little over a month away and I have not yet finished my cards. How about all of you....??? I definitely do not want to be leaving to the last minute - in fact I normally try and get my cards out the first week of Christmas. Phew - and then I wait for cards to arrive in case I forgot someone - which happens quite often.

As I am not in a very creative mind at the moment I decided to print out multiples of the same image and colour them in different colours. So here they are. Hope you get some inspiration.

Skin: E0000, E00, E11, E02

R20, 22, 24, 29, 89, blender, R000, 01 (background)

W9, 7, 5, 3, 1, blender

Skin: E00, 00, 11, 02

V09, 12, 15, 17, V0000, 000 (BG)

W9, 7, 5, 3, 1, blender

Skin: E000, 00, 11, 02

B39, 29, 24, 21, 95, B0000, 01, 02

W9, 7, 5, 3, 1, blender

This little elf is available at Make it Crafty.

Princess Anya!

2011-11-19T21:39:00.001+11:00

Last weekend we went to a christening of our friends little girl and my Hubby was lucky enough to be asked to be her Godfather. It was a really nice day!

I just love this Princess Anya, she is such a cutie and I thought she would make the perfect Christening card!

Copic Colors Used:

Hair - E79, E37, E35, E31

Crown - YR24, Y17, Y15

Dress - RV10, RV00, 0, W1, W00

We currently have 5 12yr old boys over for my sons sleepover party and I can see it is going to be a long night....hehe! Hope you are all having a good weekend!

Saturday Sharing

2011-11-12T18:01:00.000+11:00

Hello & Happy Weekend to our Copic Lovers !

I am sharing a monochromatic creation with you today - because I often get asked by my friends, about to begin their adventure into the wonderful world of Copics - these 2 questions - What colours should I begin with?....and What can I colour, if I only have a limited colour range? My advice, is not to think to hard about either LOL!! I started with an Asssorted 12 Sketch Set and then when I discovered all the cute little people images to colour, I added skin tones (E- Earth Colours) and built up my collection from there. You will be amazed by what you can do with a stamp and a limited range of colour shades & hues - if you think in terms of "grayscale" or "black & white" you can do clever things with just one colour family.

This sweet little "Hanglar Stanglar" image was coloured, in an array of colours from the E- Earth family of Copics and made into a card using papers and embellishments of the same hues. I did use a little R20 in her cheeks, but otherwise I used a combination of these 6 colours.

Skin - E13, E01, E50

Hair - E37, E35, E31

Clothing/Shoes - E37, E35, E33, E31, E50

...even if you do have a vast collection of colours - this can be a fun thing to challenge yourself to do - why don't you do some experimenting this weekend??

..and if.... you are wanting to build up your collection of Copics? - now is the perfect time to do so because.... 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...where every purchase of a Copic Maker can earn you some great goodies. Mad for Markers is a Copic Rewards Partner - be sure to check out the store for all the details.....

Chris x

Keeping a Copic journal (+ some Friday fun)

2011-11-11T12:22:00.003+11:00

It's a Great idea to keep a Copic journal ... a great way to keep a record of those favourite Copic combinations! Do you keep a Copic journal??

We thought we'd make it a little easier for you and have made up some little journals (just under A6 size) that you can use as a Copic journal... these are made using Xpress It blending card and have 50 sheets in them! You can now pick yours up in the store :)

I am using one as a record of all the stamps I own... so I will stamp them all (OK maybe I "might" need more than one lol) then colour them in using different colours and techniques...

Below is an example of how these pages do and will look... This was actually done on a separate sheet of Xpress It as I was demo'ing how to colour an image stamped in PALE ink using this gorgeous Sweet Thinking Mae stamp (from Some Odd Girl)

Now for the fun bit of todays post... Do you keep a Copic journal?? If so please leave a link to some piccies for us in the comments below... as it's always fun to get new ideas and see others Copic/ art journals :) You never know there might be a random gift out there for someone who shares their Copic journal ideas with us!!

Warm Wishes Tia non traditional colour Christmas Card with Shrink Plastic Sentiment

2011-11-10T17:12:00.000+11:00

Hi all, hope you are all well, sorry I am a little late, left the camera at work, so thought no problem will load photos at work, but couldn't find the right cable, so this card has had some travelling lol! Today I used the gorgeous Some Odd Girls Stamp 'Warm Wishes Tia' set which comes with a cute penguin, sentiments and presents, now available from Sammi, now it is sold out at the moment but just email Sammi as I am sure she will have more coming soon.

Had a little play with the shrink plastic as I wanted to make a label using it and this is some of what I came up on the card I coloured the edge with Copic V09 and punched a hole for the twine. Below are a few different variations, if you click on the photo, you can see the writing is very clear.

Copics Used

Hat - RV63, 66, 69, Spica Garnet

Hair - V09, 20, 25

Clothes - V04, V06, 09, BV01, 02, 04

Skin/Face - E000, E00, B24
Parcels - FRV1, FV2, RV21, BV11R85 and Spica Garnet

You still have time to enter our 'Black and Orange' Challenge over at our Mad for Markers Challenge Blog.

Thanks for stopping by, happy crafting, enjoy the rest of your week, take careX:)

Zombie Apocolypse is coming

2011-11-09T09:00:00.002+11:00

Do we all like Alice in Wonderland...???? How about Spesch Designer Stamps gruesome take on the fairytale with Alice in Zombieland. You have an exclusive sneak peek of our new stamps coming out at Spesch on the 13th of November. This one is Zombie Queen. Ain't she just the best..!!!! I really loved colouring her.

Markers used:

Skin: E0000, YG0000, YG00, YG01

Dress: R24, 29, 89, C5, 7, 9, 10, Y23, 26, YR14, E41 (white)

Stocking: E41, Y26, YR14, R59

Hair: c5, 7, 9, 10

Staff and crown: Y26, YR14, R24,

Dripping blood: R29

Have a totally and utterly gruesome day.

mwah

Trace

Mondays News post

2011-11-07T17:17:00.004+11:00

Good morning... ok I know it's afternoon and almost evening.. oops!! I have not been sleeping all day I promise.. I have been unpacking, and getting things in a little bit of order as well as sending out orders and ... PICKING UP NEW STAMPS from the post office.. whoo :)

The package for me today was from Some Odd Girl Stamps and includes Kristy's new range of stamps... these are the Nouveau girls and they are just too sweet! Perfect for cards AND for arty creations like ATCs and journaling!! I can't wait to ink some up :) There are three little sets and are now available in the M4M store HERE along with the new La-La Land Crafts Stamps that I have now listed (they arrived last week just in time for the show).

Speaking of the show.. that's where we have been the last few days... Here are some pics .. which you would have already seen if you are on facebook... but I know many aren't so this is for you to see what our M4M stall at the Penrith Paper Crafts Festival looked like...

and here is a pic of all our M4M girls at the show... on the Saturday morning.. Thanks to Gin who came along for a few hours despite feeling sick still and having a croaky voice... and Huge THANKS to Mel and Rach who were there Friday, Saturday and Sunday selling, smiling and colouring all weekend!! These girls were super and I could not have done it without them. Mel was also a shining star helping me set up and pack up the stand.

It was lovely to meet lots of crafty people throughout the weekend! To catch up with some crafty friends and to meet many more COPIC lovers.. we look forward to seeing your coloured creations!! We did have fun and I hope that those who came through did too... If you were not there then maybe we can see you next year :)

NOW what's coming up next at Mad for Markers???

Well our challenges continue... please show up your Orange and Black creations.. this was in honour of Halloween... but it does not have to be Halloween'y lol!

And the next BIG thing is the release of COPICENDIUM volume II - watch this space as it will be available in the next few weeks!!

Exciting Copic Australia news

2011-11-01T15:26:00.003+11:00

Ok... sorry I am late. have been running around Sydney picking up bits and pieces for the M4M stand at Paper Crafts Festival.... BUT I HAD to come home to share this EXCITING COPIC news with you...

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.

We have signed up as a Copic Rewards Partner and so from today onward (till 30th June 2012) when you purchase an original, sketch, ciao or ink from Mad for Markers store you will receive a token....which you can then store up and redeem for some great rewards.

The points system is...

for more info on the rewards, visit the COPICS AUSTRALIA rewards page here AND it's worth signing up (if you are not already) to COPIC AUSTRALIA's facebook page

mmm... want to see what that case looks like in use... OK I will show you :) Here is a sample of what you can earn ... This case is filled with the whole set of markers (mix of Sketch and Ciao) as well as additional original markers, some reinkers and Spica pens... now obviously I would not keep the Spica pens in there if the case was sitting this way (as I would not want them to clog up - they are just there for the photo ... normally I keep them in my white pencil case (which you can also get with your copic tokens :)

So whilst at home ... you can sit the case horizontally for easy marker access.... as such... it is sitting on the lid...

which can then be flipped around and sits snugly over the end so that your markers will not fall our for transportation... as such...
Any questions please feel free to ask :)
Sammi

Some Mad for Markers Monday NEWS

2011-10-31T11:43:00.003+11:00

Good morning Copic lovers!

We are back on board this week... although perhaps a little busy ... we are preparing to go to The Paper Crafts Festival in Penrith this coming weekend and will be taking all our STOCK there to set the stand up on Thursday :) So just a little to do in preparation ... hehe OK a LOT!! :D Hope to see a lot of you there?!? Please come and say Hi!!

Holidays are over .... All emails and orders put through in the last 2 weeks will be processed and responded to in the next day :)

Oooooh.... and We will also have some very exciting COPIC Australia news to share tomorrow.. so make sure you come back this is something that you do not want to miss!!
Speaking of Copic Australia they have some special Halloween fun on today so check out CopicOz

Copicendium update - The next volume IS on the way... but it will not be out in time for the Penrith show... just a bit delayed... will let you know as soon as it's available... It will still be a couple of weeks away!!

We have a new challenge live today on the Challenge blog ... we'd love to see your ...
ORANGE and BLACK creations

Have a colourful day and I'll be back tomorrow!!! :D

A spring scene using a few Copic Colouring techniques

2011-10-30T14:24:00.001+11:00

Hi all, had a wettish weekend here so finally had time to have another go at colouring a scene using Copics and thought I would share it with you today. I have used this gorgeous image 'Zoe Celebrates'. I borrowed Morgan's jeans from the ironing pile and added some colourless blender and pressed on the jeans of the image to get a denim effect, also used an old pair of Rosanna's PJ's with the colourless blender and pressed in various places on the sky.

Did have trouble with the grass couldn't make my mind up what colour looked best so there is a little bit of everything in there lol! Now DH says it is all too bright but I kinda like it. Decided she looks very happy, like she has just won the races (Melbourne cup here in Oz this weekend).

The flowers are hand drawn using multiliners 0.3 olive green and 0.1 black.

The Happy Birthday chip board was sprayed with copics then clear spica added and then special effects.

The butterflies are from my MS border punch (these are the bits that should be thrown away but I am a hoarder lol) and then added liquid pearls for the body. The rhinestones (bottom of the tulips) have been coloured using copic YG09.

The flower has been handmade using organza ribbon (think thats what you call it) with a rhinestone brad centre.

Copics Used

Hair - E19, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, Spicas Gold, Peach, Chocolate

Skin - E000, E00, E02, E11, R12, R20, Eyes - spicas Sky Blue, Pitch Black

Clothes - B91, B93, B95, B97, R81, R83, R85, R89, clear spica

Grass - G05, G07, G14, G17, G28, YG05, YG07, YG09, YG17

Sky - C00, C1, C3, B0000, B00, B01, B02. BG0000

Flowers - Multiliners 0.1 black & 0.3 olive green, RV14, RV63, RV66, V12, V17, Y13, Y18, YR68

and the Magic Colourless Blender 0

ALL Available from the lovely Sammi over in The Mad for Markers Store

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend, don't forget to join us in our new challenge starting tomorrow, enjoy the rest of your weekend where ever you are in the world, thanks for stopping by, take careX:)

Saturday Sharing

2011-10-29T13:43:00.000+11:00

Hello & Happy Weekend to our Copic Lovers !

In my previous post I mentioned one of the things I love about my Copics is their versatility and my current card creation is a true example of this. I am currently participating in a Shabby Chic challenge with my group of Scrappy Friends - it is not a genre I often work in...so this card became my "test" sample....it was so easy to colour in all my embellishments with my Copics and not nearly as messy as paint and inks!

The Mannequin Dress Form chipboard was coloured with B97 - Night Blue, The white ribbon around the waist was coloured with R85 - Rose Red. The pink flowers were originally cream in colour, but I brushed over them lightly ( to give an uneven/distressed look ) with R81 - Rose Pink and the petals of the smaller flowers were brushed on the edges with B21 - Baby Blue. Very happy that everything ended up co-ordinating with the colours in my patterned paper - Yep! I love my Copics!

Don't forget the Mad for Markers store has Twiddleybitz, Seam Binding and Adhesive Pearls & Rhinestones available to purchase that can be colour matched with Copic Markers to co-ordinate with your coloured images or decorative paper - you can check these out and all the other fabulous products available from the store next weekend at the Penrith Papercrafts Festival. Sammi will be there with some of the talented Design Team girl - be sure to pop along and say Hello! :)

Enjoy

Chris x

My first Copic Coloured Popcorn Bear - Birthday Hugs

2011-10-27T10:43:00.000+11:00

Hi all, hope you are all well, for my inspiration this week I have coloured in my first Popcorn Bear, have loved these images for ages, finally bought some and this is how he turned out, kinda pleased with my him and isn't that duck just cute. Looking forward to having a go at colouring him in purples next lol! The rhinestones are coloured using copics too.

A closer look to show the special effects on the eyes, nose, ducks feet, beak and spots, which were also coloured using the Lavender spica, hard to show the sparkle in a photo.

Copics Used

Bear - E31, 33, 35, 37, 39 & 51

Duck - Y11, 13, 15 & 17

Present - V12, 15, 17, RV63, RV55 & V000

Rhinestones - BV08, Y18 & Y38

Lavender Spica

Thanks for stopping by, look forward to seeing you over at our challenge, have a FANTASTIC weekend, happy colouring, take careX:)

Fairy Lili Halloween Party Invitation

2011-10-25T10:11:00.000+11:00

Hi all, hope you are all well, Sammi is having a couple of weeks off organising her craft room, and I had time to play, so thought I would show you all this fun Halloween Party Invitation using 'Fairy Lili'.

A closer look at the Special Effects added to her eyes, lips, hair ties and shoes and the glimmer mist

Copics used

Clothes - YR000, 00, 02, 04, BV00, 01, 02

New Hair Combo - E31, 33, 35, 37

Skin - E000, E00, E11

Eyes - G07

Lips - Lavender Spica

You still have a few days left to enter our Mad for Markers Challenge using Susan's Sketch

Thanks for stopping, enjoy the rest of your week and happy crafting, take careX:)

Time to Play!

2011-10-20T19:06:00.002+11:00

I was lucky enough to attend the 'Copic Conference' with the Lovely Sammi and so many other Gorgeous Women the other weekend.

I had the BEST time!

I actually didn't get much coloring done...too busy gigging at everybody elses gorgeous creations, but I did manage to have a go at a couple of new color combos.

I am just loving this new Pink combo, thanks Sammi!

Hope you get a chance to play over the weekend and maybe try out some new color combos!

a quick update

2011-10-19T11:55:00.002+11:00

Just a quick note to let you know that Sammi / M4M store is having a break for a couple of weeks .. so there will be no posts from me .. there will still be some appearing here and there from our wonderful DT ladies though :)

So any orders placed will be processed on the week beginning Monday 31 Oct .. that's when I will be BACK too!

Sammi
xx

Saturday Sharing

2011-10-17T13:13:00.001+11:00

Hello Copic Lovers - yes! I know it is Monday - the weekend just disappeared before my very eyes LOL!! but as the saying goes "better late than never" :)

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. 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 spent some time the last few days making these coloured images into cards - a couple I'm sharing with you today.

This is 'Hip Hop' girl is 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.

..and this sweet 'Lily of the Valley' image is sure to cheer anyone up - that teddy-bear is so very 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 hope you get to have yourself some "chill-out" time this week with your favourite Copic colours

Enjoy
Chris x

Mad for Markers Logo on a Candle

2011-10-13T09:11:00.001+11:00

Good Morning all, first I would like to thank Sammi for asking me if I would like to come back on the team, which didn't take much thinking about lol! Absolutely loved being part of the team, such an amazing bunch of girls, so wonderful to be back.

Today I thought I would show you a couple more of the projects we made at the Conference, the first is the Mad for Markers Logo on a candle, didn't burn my fingers too much lol! Thought I would try stripey tights.

the back

Rosanna's bunny cnndle hopped into the post too lol! (hope thats o.k.) Rosanna made her candle

using the stamp she won playing one of the games, she wasted no time getting it inked lol! I think she did an amazing job.

and finally the front cover of our colouring book, just love this new logo

Copics used

Hair - V09, V17, V20, V25,

Skin/Eyes - E000, E00, B24, G05

Clothes - R81, R83, R85, R89, B93, B95, B97,

Markers - C2, C3, FYR1, FRV1, FV2, Y06

(think I remembered all of them)

Thank you for stopping by, happy colouring, take careX:)

Yep another Christmas card

2011-10-12T08:00:00.003+11:00

Morning everyone. How are we all...??? Yep you guessed it - another Christmas card. I have to get ahead of all my cards for the season and frankly I always get behind so this year I thought it would be perfect to start early. So another 29 to go LOL. I thought I would show you this cutie from Make it Crafty. This is socks. Cute to boot right. I made him green as I figured he was an Elf - why not....!!!! Not too bad anyway. lol Could use it for a halloween/xmas card mixed in together LOL. Hope you are all up to date with your cards.

Copics used:

Skin: YG0000, 00, 02

Socks: R29, 24, 22

Hat: R59, 29, 24, 22

Shorts: C9, 7, 5

Hat brim and shirt: YG63, 25, 21, 00

Hair: C10, 5, 1

Eyes: YR14, black spica

Some Odd Girl tag + M4M Colour Conference

2011-10-11T15:20:00.004+11:00

Today I have a tag to share with you... this was inspired by some of the tags Kristy the talent behind Some Odd Girl Stamps and yes that's her little Tia from the Christmas set "Warm Wishes Tia" isn't she adorable!

The background was created on photo paper using Copic reinkers and colourless blender!

Some Odd Girl stamps (now available at Mad for Markers store) were a great favourite at our Copic Colour Conference on the weekend ...

We did have a fabulous weekend!! Lots of laughter and fun... lots of Copics ... lots of colouring and chatter.. and LOTS of yummy food! It was a great group of ladies and I'm thankful to them for making our first M4M conference a great one!! Will be setting next years date in the next days!! :D

Here are a couple of shots to share with you! The room set up... colouring in process.. with the shop set up down the back of the room!! :D

The ladies at lunch time.. waiting for the feast to begin

Our fabulous challenge blog co-ordinator Alicia trying out the colouring with no lines technique on Some Odd Girl's Gwen ...

Sat night we had a Girl's Night in - in support of the Cancer Council ... This is a pic of one of our games... "roll a 6 and you take over colouring the image" .. we coloured our M4M logo in... Here are three of us (the last 6's rolled) trying to finish off the picture before another 6 was rolled.

Copic Australia supported our Girls Night in with some great prizes and with this cutout of Doc Marci (from La-La Land stamps) which was awarded to the "best" coloured Lala land image coloured on the weekend - Rosanna was the recipient who was able to take Doc home with her...

Thanks for stopping by! We hope you might think about joining us next year!!

Sammi
xx

Tutorial thursday... yup instead of Tues lol!

2011-10-06T23:47:00.004+11:00

Our lovely DT member Mel makes the most gorgeous handmade/ handcoloured papers for her work... want to know how?? She was kind enough to do a tutorial on her blog and to let me share it all here too...

So ... Here it is.... from Mel herself.....
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hi Everyone,

The weather here is cold & wet, so what a wonderful day to sit & 'play'.

I have been asked by several people what I mean when I say 'Copic Sprays' so I thought I would put together some instructions just in case you want to have a play too.

I use these sprays for just about everything, to colour cardstock, flowers, chipboard etc.

I must admit that I like everything to match!!

What you will need:

Mini Mister

Copic '0' blender

Copic Reinkers

Cardstock

Heat Gun

Covered workspace

Well ventilated area

Step 1:

Gather '0', reinkers & mini mister

Step 2:

Filling the 'spray' bottle

I start with filling the mister with 1/3 of '0' blender.

On the reinker bottle you will find small line markers.

I then add 2 or 3 of these markers of each colour to the mister.

Step 3:

The filled 'spray'

Replace the cap & you are ready to spray

Step 4:

Using the 'spray' cover the entire piece of cardstock

Step 5:

Saturate the cardstock with the 'spray'

Step 6:

Heat cardstock using the Heat Gun

(Make sure you are in a well ventilated area)

Allow the puddle of ink to move around & make 'runs'.

Continue adding more 'spray' until you are happy

Step 7:

Finished cardstock

Step 8:

Use the cardstock as you wish

Finished Creation using 'Sprayed cardstock'

I hope you have found this tutorial useful & please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

I would love to see your creations using this 'spray' technique.

Until next time

Melissa

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Isn't that GREAT??? THANKS Mel for sharing this great tutorial with us :D

We would love to see your creations with this "spray" technique so please link them up here or post them up on our Facebook wall!

Mad for Markers NEWS

2011-10-05T12:02:00.005+11:00

CHRISTMAS is clearly coming!!
We have lots of Christmas stamps in store now - including lots of clear stamps.. so if you want a headstart on your Christmas cards now is your chance!! :D

COPIC CONFERENCE - I am busily getting organised with packs and lessons and ideas for the Conference this weekend... if you are in Sydney and would like to join us for the days only let me know as we can squeeze you in (due to a few unable to make it).

COPIC Girl's night In - We are running one this Saturday night at Gin's house... from 7pm!
We are supported by Copic Australia (Xpress Graph-X) and are hoping to help raise funds and awareness for over 15,700 women who are diagnosed with cancer each year (the GNI is an initiative of the Cancer council) If you would like to come along please let us know ASAP!!

If you can't come but would like to donate money to this great cause then you can do so online
and if you want to do it under the Copic Girl's Night in you can do it HERE! (or search for Copic under NSW on the Girl's Night in main site). We are also planning to donate 10% of all sales from the online store that day Saturday 8th October.

Oh and whilst here - I have had a number of enquiries .. and YES we will be selling the new Copic bags... I can't wait .. they look awesome - the perfect solution for storing ALL your Copic markers... all 380 of them :) You can see the case in more detail on Marianne's blog HERE

email Sammi on sales@madformarkers.com.au if you would like to reserve one for yourself at the cost of $85.. I will then send you a paypal invoice :)

Seasons Greetings

2011-10-04T12:38:00.000+11:00

Oh wow oh wow oh wow. Can you believe it is now October. Gosh the time has flown and we are fast approaching Christmas so I thought I would make another Christmas card. I do love the reds and greens you can use for Christmas. Some of my favourite marker combos. This little cutie elf is from Make if Crafty and he is available in store now - here. So another card down, hmmmm another 30 to go LOL. What about all of you....??? Have you go your Christmas cards organized...?? I used the sketch from Friday Sketch Challenge. The new fortnightly challenge can be found here.

Copics:

Skin- E000, 00, 11, 04

Jacket/hat - R22, 24, 29, 59, 0000

Pants - G21, 24, 28

Bell - Y21, 26, 28,

Hair - C10, 5, 1

Shoes - C5, 7, 9, 10

White- C0, 1, 3, blender

Background - E41

black spica in eyes.

Christmas is coming

2011-09-28T09:00:00.004+10:00

Good morning everyone. How are we all...??? Tracey here today with a very special post to let you all know about the current need for submissions to Sammi for her second edition of Copicendium. As you all know Christmas is fast approaching and because of that Sammi is wanting to do a Christmas edition of the magazine so email her your creations - especially if you have done some creating with Copics and scrapbooking. Be it tags, globes, whatever - Sammi needs it.

Now on to my card. This is a sweet stamp from Sugar Nellie and it is the most fabulous stamp to colour.

Copics used:

Skin: E000, 00, 11, 04

Jacket: R24, 29, 59,

Skirt: YG21, 25, 63, 67,

Hair: E49, 47, 41

Hat/socks: B91, 93, 95, 97, YR12, 14, 18,

R24, BV000, 02, 04,

Star: Y21, 26, YR14, W5, Clear spica

Wings: B0000, 01, 93

White: W1, W3, blender

Gloves: R22, 24, 29

Philippa GDT :: blender challenge

2011-09-27T09:00:00.000+10:00

Hi all mad copic lovers, Philippa here again with my card for this fortnights challenge "0" blending. I must say that I use my blender so much just trying to fix up my colouring, I was just going to put my normal card up.lol. But there's no fun in that. What I have done is used my R89 to colour my button and then used my "0" blender to take off the ink. This was very easy to do. I have enclosed an up close photo of the button so you can see.

Copics used
Dress - R81,83,85 and 89
Hair - E37,35,33,31
Hat - Y11,13,15
Skin - E000,00
Flower Yr 61, 82, 65 R85

A big thank you to Sammi and the girls for letting my be a guest designer for the past month. I have had lots of fun participating.

Also I'm heading up for the colour conference in a couple of weeks. Might see some of you there. Cheers Philippa

looking forward to Christmas....

2011-09-26T23:20:00.005+10:00

I am waiting for some Christmas stamps to arrive from both The Greeting Farm (past years) AND Some Odd Girl Stamps (new release)... can't wait to share them with you all!!

In the meantime... here is a card I made using a digi image released TODAY from Pixie Dust Studio!! This image is P is for PIxie-Clause! :D

I've used a number of Copics on this image...
Skin: E000, E01, E11, RV02
Hair: E30, 31, 33
Reds: R35, 37, 39
Greens: G14, 16,19
Pinks: RV02, RV04, RV55, R83
Boots: N5, N7, N9
+ Opaque white
I also used COPICS on the white seam binding!! :D

Speaking of Christmas --- We would love you to submit your creations for consideration to our next issue of Copicendium! Thanks!!!

Just a little Late....

2011-09-22T19:12:00.001+10:00

Hey there Copic Lovers! Nothing like being a little late...hehe! Anyway they say 'better late than never', so here goes!

Ok so this post was supposed to go up this morning, but it just kind of slipped my mind. This card is a card I have done for a special friend of mine, who is always about to cheer me up and always has something nice to say, she is just beautiful and I have to say that I think she is just the sweetest person I have ever met! And of course true to the title of this post, it is a little late in getting to her for her birthday, which was a couple of weeks ago...again, 'better than than never'...hehe! Anyway I hope she likes it!

Copics Used:

Hair - E27, E25, E23, E21

Skin - E11, E00, E000, R20

Dress - RV13, RV14, RV10, RV29, RV25

My Card is colored of course with Copic Markers and I have used Xpress It Blending card, which is just one of my absolute favourites to color on! All of which are available in the Mad For Marker Store.

Looking for creations for our next publication..

2011-09-19T11:24:00.003+10:00

Love your Copics??

Would you like to see your work in print??

Would you like to advertise your stamp company/ digi store??

Do you have questions about Copic markers you would like answered??
send them in for our Copical question section :)

Issue 2 of Copicendium... our little mini magazine is underway and we are looking for more creations to include... Please only send NEW creations that have not been published on your blogs or in any other format.

If submissions are accepted we may ask you to send your creations in to us at M4M so that we can photograph for Copicendium!!

*** Volume 1 of Copicendium is still available in case you missed out! ***

Oh and ... Did you see our new look??? Scroll down for all the details....

a new look with a NEW logo!!!

2011-09-19T01:14:00.002+10:00

Good morning Copic lovers!! I'm so excited... today is the launch of a bit of a NEW look here at Mad for Markers!!! thanks to the very lovely and wonderfully talented Kristy from Some Odd Girl we have a beautiful new logo!! THANKS so much Kristy!!!! :D

Kristy is the brains and talent behind the funky Some Odd Girl stamps!! Oh and she also does custom made chibis for people... you have probably seen them around blogland/ facebook (including on my personal blog) Find out how YOU can get chibi'd HERE!

soooo... you will now see our NEW logo (cute girl marching along with a Copic with MORE Copics following behind) on our headers and blinkies... Which reminds me - If you currently display a M4M logo on your blog or would like to - then please take the new code from the box below to display on your blogs :D

Yup.. I'm loving the new logo and so I thought I might do a little giveaway. If you post our blinky on your site then please leave a comment here - to go in the drawing for some candy... a couple of stamps (from Some Odd Girl) and maybe a couple of Copics too! :)

Sammi

Saturday Sharing

2011-09-17T20:04:00.001+10:00

Happy Weekend Copic Lovers,

...my apologies for today's post being a "little" late...I hope it is worth the wait ;)

....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

enjoy the rest of your weekend and happy colouring.

Chris x

Friday sketch Challenge

2011-09-16T17:00:00.002+10:00

There's a new Sketch Challenge blog in blogland.... set up by the gorgeous Trace ... and we - Mad for Markers - are going to be sponsoring :)

I have kicked off with my first card for this challenge blog using Creeper Lulu.. the latest Creeper from The Greeting Farm to hop a flight over here to Australia ... to Mad for Markers :)

Hop on over to the Mad for Markers store to pick up some lovely new colours and rubber for yourselves and then hop on over to Friday Sketch Challenge to check it out and join the fun!!

N.B this was the last week to REGISTER for our Copic Colour conference in October, PLEASE if you were planning to come and missed to registration Let me know ASAP!!! :D

Nevaeh

2011-09-14T09:00:00.005+10:00

Good morning everyone. Tracey here with my weekly post. Today I have a gorgeous girl Nevaeh. This girl is so cute. I love her dress so thought it was perfect to colour and put in here for my post. What do you reckon...??? Email me if you want to know where she comes from.

Markers used: Skin- E000, 00, 11, 04; Hair - E49, 47, 44, 43; Dress - BG11, 13, 15, 18, E49, RV25, 29, 000, 13, blender; Stocking - W1, 3, E49, 47, 44, 43, blender; Shoes - RV13, 25, 29, W5, 7, 9.

Hope you get some inspiration from my card.

(ed. The image is from the Saturated Canary shop)

Some Odd Girl Stamps

2011-09-13T13:17:00.003+10:00

Want to see some GORGEOUS new stamps??? Well.... Some Odd Girl are previewing the Sept release NOW .. this week!! the first preview is UP NOW!! :D

I am so excited and LOVE the stamps ... so - we are getting all the new stamps in at the M4M store.. so if you like what you see Aussies let me know and I'll reserve you some! :)

thinking about Christmas....

2011-09-13T12:31:00.002+10:00

Good afternoon ... Today I have a Christmas card I wanted to share with you... this image (Surfing Santa) is available from Spesch Stamps here.

The Copics I used are:
Skin: E000, E01, E11,
Reds: R24, R46, R59,
Greens: G14, G17,
Sea: B000, B01, B52,
Sunnies: C8, 10,
Hat: C00, C1,
Beard etc: W00,W1

*** COPICENDIUM CALL ***
Speaking of Christmas - We are looking for some Christmas creations for our next issue of Copicendium... please send in your submissions to sales@madformarkers.com.au (please only send creations that have not been published online or elsewhere). If we choose your creations to be published we might ask you to send in the originals for photographing :)

new colouring books

2011-09-09T14:10:00.003+10:00

Thanks to those who suggested names for the characters last week! I believe they will be called Mary and Trevor! I will send digis out to the winners next week! :D

The good news is that you can now order your colouring books in the store.. they will be sent out NEXT week!! Here is a preview at the cover!! ....

Also we still have some room left at the Colour Conference and would love you to come along!!

Sammi
xx

2011-09-08T08:00:00.000+10:00

Ok so I am still trying to build up my stash of boys cards, although I don't think it helps that my oldest has had birthday parties everywhere over the last few weeks. So every time I get some done they all seem to be disappearing! Most of his buddies are going to a different High School than him next year, so I think that this is why their have been so many parties. Oh I can't believe that my baby is just about to go to High School....Where does the time go! Anyway enough with the tears...hehe!

Copic Colors Used:

Hair - E55, E53, E51

Shoes and Guitar - R29, R27, R24, C1, C3

Skin - E11, E00, E000, R20, R22

Shirt - B91, B93, B95

Ground - W5, W3, W1

Not just for one use

2011-09-07T08:56:00.002+10:00

When you purchase your markers do you buy and use for only the one thing...???

I started bear making recently and most of the shading etc that happens on these bears are with Copic makers. Who would of thought....!!!!! So with my copic markers in hand I shaded this little bear.

Her eye were clear glass so I air brushed the back with BV23.

Ears - E74, Paws - BV25, Eyes/ around nose - E70, R11.

And there you have it. You can use Copic markers on just about anything. Give it a go.

Showcasing some NEW stamps

2011-09-05T10:50:00.004+10:00

Good morning! Today I am just popping on quickly to showcase some of the new stamps from the Greeting Farm!! First up we have Creeper Lulu! I do love the Creepers and Creeper Lulu is no exception! I love her hair!!!

Copics used: Skin: E000, E01, E11, E04, Hair: E31, 34, 35, 37, Clothes: V20, 25, 06, N6, 8 , 10
Paper: Xpress IT blending card, Kaisercraft - Magic happens 6x6 paper pad

and because today is my birthday for the second card I have used Birthday Anya II from last months release ... and ave added on some banner bits and sentiment from the clear banner set!

Copics used: Skin: E000, E00, E11, Hair: E31, 34, 35, 37, 77, 79, Dress: RV63, 66, 69, HUGE cupcake: R000, R81, 83, 85, E31, 35, 37 + blossom spica pen.
Paper: Xpress IT blending card, Kaisercraft - Magic happens 6x6 paper pad

I used V20 ink to dye the seam binding a light purpley colour!

Thanks for stopping by ... have a lovely day!!

Also.... just letting you know that our new challenge at the Mad for Markers challenge blog has gone live today... hop on over to see what it could be!!! :D

One for the Boys

2011-09-04T11:53:00.000+10:00

As we celebrate Father's Day here in Australia today - I thought it was a good opportunity to honour the boys. I'm such a "pink" girl that I find creating masculine cards really difficult....but I have been challenging myself to step away from the pretty pink colour palette and work with some new ( for me ) Copic colours with "boy" things in mind ;)

This is my attempt into the realm of "manhood" a card based on the sketch I mentioned in yesterday's post. Once again, it is a digi stamp by Mo Manning called "Big Guy Grilling".

Copics Used:

Shirt - YG93, YG95, YG97

Shorts - B91, B93, B95

BBQ/ Hat - R24, R27, R29

Skin - E00, E11

Sausages - E33, E35, E37

Utensils - C3, C5, C7

Oven Mitt/ Packages - YR04, Y21, Y23, Y26

If you are wanting to try your hand at creating boy cards the Mad for Markers store has some great stamps for you to practise with...... such as My Guy Ian, Ahoy Oliver,Wild Sprouts Logan and don't forget Edward and Ryan.

Have a great day with your Dad and I look forward to seeing your "boy cards" in our upcoming challenges.

Chris xx

Saturday Sharing

2011-09-03T10:30:00.000+10:00

Happy Weekend Copic Lovers! - and Yay! to Springtime!

I love Spring, it is my favourite time of the year, warm sun-shiny days, gardens in bloom and for many, new beginnings - and here at Mad for Markers that is exactly what we are going to bring to you... a new look to our weekend blog posts. Every Saturday we will be sharing with you a variety of Copic projects to get your creative juices flowing :) - everything from Scrapbook Layouts, Card Creations, Gift Ideas and so much more - so stay tuned and don't forget to "pop-in" on Saturdays for some Copic inspiration.

Today I am sharing with you some cards that are all about warm days and sunshine. They were created with a digital image by Mo Manning called "Kai in the Sand with Flowered Hat" and based on the Sketch Challenge from Volume 1 of Copicendium ( an idea booklet exclusive to Mad for Makers ) available here and of course coloured with a gorgeous array of Copic Markers.

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

and the same image and same sketch - just a whole new colour scheme! ;)

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

Enjoy your Saturday and don't forget to check back here tomorrow, where I will share another card based on this sketch.... to honour Father's Day.

Chris x

Anyone for Anya??

2011-09-02T16:46:00.000+10:00

We are the sponsors this week!! You still have a little time to enter .. there is a lovely sketch to try your hand at!! The winner this week will receive a TGF stamp out of our current stock! :D

Some Friday FUN!!!

2011-09-02T14:35:00.000+10:00

Good afternoon! Well.. some news from here at Mad for Markers is that the Colouring Hair and Skin book is scheduled to have more copies produced and available NEXT week! And ....

The long promised 2nd colouring book... Colouring people/ clothes is ALMOST done... Here's a little preview...

These two from the "Marker Mob" would love you to suggest some names for them!! Please leave a comment with your suggestions - I'm thinking of having them available as digis..what do you think??
The person who chooses the name we decide on will receive that image in digi format.

ONE more thing... Have you purchased one of the Colouring books??? What did you think? have you had a go?? How about taking a piccy of some of your pages and emailing them to sales@madformarkers.com.au (I'd love to see and share!!)

Now.. remember the last lot of Friday fun?? Check out this gorgeous creation Jac shared!! Pretty amazing isn't it!! Click the piccy to see more from Jac's blog!!!

a Fairy Princess card

2011-09-01T20:01:00.000+10:00

Good evening ...Today I uploaded lots of markers (restocks... still more to come in next couple of weeks) and NEW stamps from The Greeting Farm. There are some fun new stamps out so make sure you check them out HERE!!

I have made this little notecard (size = A6 card folded in half) using one of the new clear stamps from The Greeting Farm - the set I used is The Fairy Princess set - they are so very cute! Pretty small images so an easy job to colour them!! :D There are three fairies in the set as well as some other stamps.. sentiments and crown/ butterfly!

copics used: Skin: E000, E01, E11, R83, Hair: E23, E18. E74, E77, top: R81, 83, 85, wings: R0000, R83, blossom spica, skirt: YG23, 63, 67

I have used Seam binding on the bottom.. and have pulled some thread through it so that it scrunches up nicely (thanks to Mel for that tip!!) I coloured it with R81 ink ... I am now selling light coloured seam binding in the store.. it's all "almost white" but there are three options - chalk white, white and oatmeal .... I have also decided to offer a "custom coloured" piece... so I will Copic it for you in your chosen colour... you can get yours HERE.

Birthday Ian

2011-08-31T07:37:00.002+10:00

Good morning everyone.

Tracey here to show you a fab stamp that is now

available in store right here.

This is Birthday Ian. I must admit that I am not

very good with boy cards even though I have two boys

myself. Will have to make an effort. LOL. Enjoy your day.

Markers used:

Skin: E00, E11, E02

Shirt: Yg0000, 00, 01, 05

Hair: E50, 51, 53, 55

Jeans: B91, 93, 97

Banner: V12, 15, 17, YR20, 12, 14, Y11, 18, 26, YR14.

Shoes: R24, 29, W5

Shading: W5, W3, blender

A Late Birthday Card!

2011-08-25T10:56:00.000+10:00

So it was my twins birthday in July and this is one of my Girls cards! I just love these new Greeting Farm girls, they are just soooo adorable!

I have been seeing these banners everywhere and decided it was time I gave them a go! I was pretty happy with the end result and they are so easy to make. I had also seen a tutorial for making flowers from the Tim Holtz tissue tape so I wanted to have a go at those as well! It's always nice to try different things and even better when they work out like you had hoped!

Copic Colors Used:

Hair - E55, E53, E51

Dress and Shoes - RV29, RV25, RV23, RV00

Socks - BG72, BG70

Ground - W5, W3, W1, 0

Sky - C1, C00, B000, B0000, 0

Hope you find some time to color today!

Making a scene and colouring Tiny Baker Tia

2011-08-23T18:59:00.003+10:00

Good evening, I'm a little late but I have been working on some videos almost all day for you! Lol.. as soon as I received Tiny Baker Tia in the mail this morning I knew I wanted to make a little scene with her to show you! As you would know our current/ newest challenge on the Mad for Markers challenge blog is to create a scene :) I have used a digi image from Make It Crafty to create my scene along with the stamp of Tia!!

I thought I would share how I coloured this gorgeous image of Tiny Tia... I have not shown you the colouring of the background as it would have been FAR too long.. as it was I have split this into three videos to share... Here they are... Please excuse my "mumblings" along the way as I talk through my process softly!!

You can pick up your very own Tiny Baker Tia in the Mad for Markers store HERE!

Some Friday Fun

2011-08-19T10:56:00.006+10:00

Good morning!!

.. so it's been a while since we had some proper Friday Fun.. well this Friday I am going to give you a couple of challenges - perhaps you might want to do them over the weekend??

## CHALLENGE no.1 - Colour an image that is stamped in "light ink"
perhaps you have already done this?? If so you'll know what I am talking about... on her Facebook group for Make it Crafty ... Zoe challenged everyone to colour an image that was stamped in "light coloured" ink instead of black... I've done a few attempts and some images are easier than others.... so I am passing this challenge on to you all... I'd love to see your attempts so leave a comment with a link to your work :)

I made this card with Sweet Thinking Mae from Some Odd Girl... I have just sold out of this stamp but I do have more gorgeous Some Odd Girl clear stamps in stock and am waiting on another delivery... unfortunately the postie/ customs must have liked these stamps as they did not arrive :( So will have to wait a little longer for a new lot to come!!

she has been coloured with Copics of course... colours : Skin: E000, E00, E01, E11, E04
Hair/ Eyes: E00, E30, E31, E34, Greys: T5, 3, 1, RedViolets: RV63, 66 + custom mixed RV64
(I needed a middle one to make smooth blending EASIER.. so I made it up in a bottle + empty marker!

My other creation I'm sharing is the first attempt at this technique.. this time on a Creeper from The Greeting Farm ... I have not recorded the colours here BUT I do know that once again I've used those RV60s lol! so......

## CHALLENGE #2 - Use your favourite Copic colour (mine at the moment is RV63/66)

Leave a comment with links to your work for challenge #1 or #2 (or both of them?) so that we can come and see.. I will be sharing some entries on next weeks Friday posting!! :D

Have a lovely colourful weekend!!!
Sammi
xx

PS. I forgot to mention bot images were stamped in Memento Ink - Angel Pink!

Shades of Grey and Green

2011-08-17T09:00:00.002+10:00

Good morning everyone. Hope we are all having a great week. It is hump day so that means it is my day to post. I thought I would have a play with my new stamp and use lots of Green but a little grey and brown too. She was amazing to colour and she has Clear Spica on her wings but as always it did not come out in the photo. Enjoy the rest of your week.

Copics:

Skin: E000, 00, 11, 02

Hair: E50, 51, 53, 55

Wings: E70, 74, 79, C1, 5, 7, 9

Clothes/socks: G20, 21, 24, 26, 28

Shading: B0000, 000, 00,

Shadow: C3, C1, Blender

Dried leaves: E53 (couple of times).

What's happening at Mad for Markers

2011-08-15T18:00:00.003+10:00

Hello everyone, Just a quick update on our COLOUR CONFERENCE, we have finally sorted out a draft schedule and things are moving along nicely in the preparations... and guess what..there is still room... so you can still register!!! ... In fact everyone who registers this week will receive a FREE copy of Copicendium! If you are planning to come We would really love it if you would register ASAP so we can get the numbers worked out with the hotel!

The conference is located right next to Sydney Airport in a lovely hotel.. so convenient for interstate attendees.... and comfy too (as requested!)

You can download a registration form with a schedule on it HERE

AND more news...

We have decided to run a Girls Night in on the Saturday night of Conference... it will be held in a private residence (at Wolli Creek). Address will be provided on registration. Transport will be arranged from the hotel for conference attendees.

"Girls Night In is an initiative of the Cancer Council, which aims to help raise funds and awareness for over 15,700 women who are diagnosed with cancer each year. A proportion of sales from the night will be donated to this cause. you are also welcome to donate to this cause if you would like to".

Our Girl's Night in will be a fun night of copic'ing and chatting ... Please Wear some Pink, Bring your copics... We'll have some dinner and spend time colouring with some demos and games thrown in for fun (with prizes)! :)

If you want to join in to just the Girl's Night in you are most welcome although of course we'd love you to come to everything!! :)

Sunday Share

2011-08-14T22:11:00.001+10:00

Hi Copic Lovers…. a better late than never post for this weekend… So this weekend I decided to mix it up a little and instead of a layout, I have a card to share with you. The current challenge over on our Challenge blog is to use Spica’s, and so I used this as some inspiration, along with the cutest stamp from the Greeting Farm, Anya Princess #3.

Supply List:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV000
Hair: E50, E51, E53
Clothing: R81, R83, R85, Clear Spica & Silver Spica

Stamp: The Greeting Farm Princess Anya #3

Rach

a little Spica video and a new DT member

2011-08-12T18:29:00.005+10:00

Good evening! I promised a Sensational Spica post on Tuesday but it did not arrive... due to some techological difficulties... and I wanted to do a video for you so that you could really see the Sparkle .... The name ATYOU SPICA pen means "Sparkling like Stars".

Today I was lucky to have some help from our NEWEST DT member ...

GinOak

Now for the video... switch your own music on as there is no sound!

One for the Boys!

2011-08-11T14:24:00.000+10:00

As I was looking through some of my cards I realized that I was out of Boy's cards, so I decided it was time to do one to keep in my stash! So of course I had to reach for my TGF Creepers, which are available in the Mad For Markers Store!

Copics Used:

Hair & Thongs - C10, C8, C7, C5

Jeans - B99, B97, B95

Shirt - YG99, YG97, YG95

Colouring Chibi/Anime eyes

2011-08-10T09:05:00.002+10:00

I have had many enquiries on how to colour the eyes on most of our stamps at Spesch so I thought I had better do a tutorial on it. More like a show and tell as there isn't much to it really. Below are three photos showing my progress with the eyes.

Colour the whole eye with a light colour. I used B21

Grab a darker colour and put it in the middle. I used B02

Lastly I grabbed my 0.5 liner and coloured her iris.

Here is the whole image coloured.

If you want to get tricky you could go darker in the middle and blend with the lighter colour but I like the colour to be close so I don't blend (most of the time).

new challenge today!!!

2011-08-08T18:42:00.002+10:00

Good evening everyone! I hope your Monday has started off well and that you all had a wonderful weekend! I shared some cards this morning on the challenge blog and thought I would share them here too... just in case you have not seen the challenge blog yet!

First up is this gorgeous image - Sweet Blossom by Sylvia at Wee Stamps .... this image has MANY Copics in it... and I have done it in two sessions... the first colouring was very basic blending... safe jumps up within a colour family... but when I came back later after Intermediate certification I decided it needed MORE contrast ... so I worked back into it with MORE colours lol! I also added in lots of SPICA but it is hard to see that in my photo!

For the chipboard embellishment I used a tree... coloured with lots of brown markers to get some variety ... and then added chocolate spica lines and swirls on top! I got the idea for tying ribbon around the tree from something Alicia made with chipboard and fibres ... you can see her gorgeous Chippy creations in COPICENDIUM ... still available for purchase in our store :)

and then I also shared this card... which I have done the HAPPY BIRTHDAYs using SPICA pens to add sparkle and a personal touch.. they are great for colouring, adding sparkle and also for writing! the Tilda image I coloured last night in front of the TV .. I have tried adding some different tones and colours into her top and pants ...

my main colours were:
Skin: E000, E00, E01, E11, E04
Hair: E23, 27, 29, 49
Top: RV63, 66, 69 + some RV90s and some BVs in the 20s
Pants: BVs
and yes there are a few more hidden in there but those were the main ones! lol!

I'll be back tomorrow for some suggestions for scheming with sensational spicas (sorry in a funny mood tonight)!

NEW STAMPS from The Greeting Farm

2011-08-04T13:27:00.002+10:00

Good afternoon! Just wanted to share with you a card I made for a friend... using one of the new stamps from The Greeting Farm! This is from the Oliver and Amelia Birthday Surprise set! Amelia with a bundle of pressies

I stamped her up on 352GSM Neenah.. .which meant I could have a single layer card!

You can purchase your very own beautiful birthday stamps from the Greeting Farm at the Mad for Markers store HERE! :D

Bonnie looking super cute

2011-08-03T08:00:00.000+10:00

Good morning. Tracey here again with another card to try and inspire you.

Again this week I used the sketch for the challenge - go here to see the details but be quick as you only have a couple days left before the challenge ends. I used Miss Bonnie from the new Blush range from TGF. Again what a cutie. Can't wait to get my hands on more.

I thought I would try and do some pleats. It worked out really well and if you want to know how to do what I have achieved in this card go here and visit Zoe's blog. She has made a great video to teach how to do this. Thanks for joining us today.

Copics used:

Skin: E000, 11, 04

Dress: BG13, 15, 18, blender

Hair: E49, 79, 74, 70

Socks: W3, W0, blender

shoes/dress trim: R32, 35, 37

Colouring black with Blue....

2011-08-02T21:03:00.002+10:00

Good evening! This is the card I've made for my sister, Nicky (whom some of you might have been lucky enough to meet at Paperific last year!) as it's her birthday today!!

I've used an image from Make it Crafty... as well as one of Zoe's gorgeous chippy dragonflies (bottom left) LOVE them!! :D

TIP!!!!

Colouring black with a bit more depth....
TRY colouring blue first and then adding the greys on top :)

Have a great night!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!!!!

2011-07-29T18:53:00.002+10:00

Hope you've had a lovely birthday!!! xxx

Something Different!

2011-07-28T08:00:00.001+10:00

I have something a little different for you today, I have been so inspired by all this Gorgeous Art Journalling that I have been seeing lately that I just had to have a go! And I have to say that I had soooo much fun doing this and I am definitely going to be doing more and considering that it is my very first page I am really happy with how it turned out. But of course I had to use my absouletly favourite stamps, TGF and of course my Copics....they are always close by....hehe!

Copics Used:

Hair - E57, E55, E53, E51

Dress, Shoes & Socks - RV00, RV02, RV04

Skin - E11, E00, E000, R22, R20

Hope you like my Art Journalling and are inspired to maybe give it a go yourself!

Babette is too cute

2011-07-27T07:00:00.000+10:00

Morning everyone. Tracey here to show you (hopefully) some inspiration. I thought I would put together a card using this week's challenge - Sketch by Bron. I turned it on it's side to allow for the oval and Miss Babette. Aren't the new stamps by TGF so cute and, of course, are available from Mad for Markers but you had better be quick - I think they are running out the door.

So for this card I actually used the same piece of DP but because I don't have any other DP that matched I cut out the pieces in the 'puzzle' for the sketch and put it back together. I am my biggest critic so there was a lot more that I could have done with this card but this will certainly do for now. Thanks for looking.

Copics used:

Skin: E000, 11, 04

Hair: C10, C5, C1

Socks/Trim dress: E41, 43, blender, YG23 (top trim dress)

Dress: B0000, 21, 93

2011-07-26T10:06:00.002+10:00

On Sunday I was able to attend Intermediate Certification with Mandi-Lee our lovely Aussie Intermediate Copic Instructor ... along with some DT girls - Mel and Rach ! YAY!

There were some new techniques taught and I really do I wish I could do it all perfectly now but I can't so will spend lots of time trying to do better.. lol! It's what we have to do right?! PRACTICE!!!

So I thought I would share with you a card I've made where I have tried to incorporate some of the ideas from Sunday... I had it for yesterday but was not brave enought to post it (do you ever feel like that? lol) The image I've used is the gorgeous Lemonade Girl from Spesch stamps ... She sure is fun to colour... I have not recorded the colours here for you as there were lots... but the main thing I have done is use much more contrast than I normally would... and this also means that there is more of a "line" than I would like .. so that's something I still need to work through! I have tried to pay more attention to a light source for shadows and a cast shadow on the ground (also something that needs more thought/ planning)!

I do hope to be able to share some tips and techniques with you in the near future but first...

I need to practise myself
I need to work out the best way to share this with you via Internet/ blog etc :D

Thanks for stopping by.. Hope you have a colourful week!

Sammi

Scrapping Saturday

2011-07-23T22:02:00.001+10:00

Good evening Copic Lovers… a late post from me today, as I was holding out for some sunshine today to photograph my layout outside… which didn’t really eventuate around here today. :-(

So just a quick post from me tonight, as a couple of us from the Mad For Markers team are off to do our Intermediate Certification tomorrow, which is a nice early start for us in the morning and I’m so not organised lol.

So here is some Scrapping Inspiration for your weekend

It is so difficult to find that perfect coloured ribbon, especially in a grey… I had no problems altering this thick white grosgrain ribbon with my Toner Grey 5 Sketch Marker.
Don’t forget to pop in to the Mad For Markers Store for all your Copic and Stamping needs.
Rach

Baby Girl

2011-07-20T08:00:00.004+10:00

Good morning. Tracey here for my weekly post.

I thought I would make a card for a Kinder mum who just recently had her bub. I thought I would give this cutie from Some Odd Girl a bit of a go seeing it is so darn cute. Did you know that Sammi now stocks Some Odd Girl clear stamps. Pop on over to the shop and grab yours today.

I tried to make the skin a little bit darker than usual but it didn't work too well but still darker than I normally do. Have a good one.

Copics:

Skin: E00, 11, 04

Hair: E57, 59, 49

Nappy: RV000, 00, 11

Eye: E57, 79

Sorry about the photo quality but took the photo at night. At least you can see the baby well.

Copic Oz Challenge #12 - Embellish It

2011-07-15T08:00:00.003+10:00

Good morning. Tracey here with a card I made for the Copic Oz - Challenge #12 - Embellish It. So have to use your Copic Markers to colour your embellishments. Look at the awesome prize you can win.

I have air brushed my ribbon - with R89 - and my flowers - C9 for middle and R35 for edge but took my R89 and did a thin line around the edge as well. If you know me you know I love to airbrush so this was fun for me. I could have gone all out and coloured my pearls as well but wanted to leave them raw as it looks better than having them a colour (trust me the coloured ones didn't look nice).

I have been also practicing my colouring on folds or pleats and still finding it a challenge. If you want to see an awesome tutorial on coloring pleats/folds go to Zoe's blog here.

Don't you just love this Gorjuss stamp...!!! Well I do. I have the decoupage set for this too but just can't bring myself to use it as I love it so much. Maybe I should make it up and keep for myself as artwork. Ruby has to be a big favourite but love the others available from Santoro. I purchased mine from Funky Kits.

Copics:

Skin: E000, 11, 04

Dress/shoes: R35, 37, 39, 89, blender

Stockings: C9, 7, 5, W0, W1, blender

Hair: C10, 5, 1

Cat: C3, 5, 7, 9

Flowers: ABS with C9 (middle), R35 (outside) with

lined edge of R89

Ribbon: R89.

Blush Babbette!

2011-07-14T08:02:00.001+10:00

Don't you just LOVE these New Greeting Farm Stamps! I think these new Blush Girls may become my new Favourites!

Yesterday was my Twin's 5th Birthday and this is the card I did for one of my Girls and yes she is a Red head! A very fiesty one at that...hehe! I really like to make my cards with the right colored hair when it is for one of my kids! I think it makes it that little bit more special.

Copic Colors Used:

Hair - E08, YR07, YR04, YR02

Dress and Shoes - YG99, YG97, YG95, YG93, E50, E51, E53

Skin - E11, E00, E000, R22, R20

Ground - W5, W3, W1

Cloudy Background - W1, W00, B000, B0000, 0

Make sure to check out the new challenge over on the Challenge Blog! This fortnight we want to see your Pink and Yellow Copic Coloring!

Pink and Yellow, Pink and Yellow

2011-07-13T08:00:00.000+10:00

Morning everyone. Tracey here with some inspiration for the new Challenge at Mad for Markers at the challenge blog - here. Thought I would use a Kraftin' Kimmie stamp as I am trying to get used to colouring folds in clothes. Although I am getting better I do need some more practice.

Pop on over to the challenge blog and get some more fabulous inspiration and while you are there why don't you enter. Would love to see your entries.

Copics:

Skin: E000, 11, 04

Dress: Y11, 21, 26, blender

Wings: R000, 30, 32

Hair: E41, 44, 49

some news .....

2011-07-12T14:55:00.003+10:00

Copicendium is now available to order... I am still unhappy with a couple of small details... but have been having troubles with sorting this out at the printer... so I have decided to sell it a little cheaper than originally intended! Copicendium vol 1 is now available to order for $6.95 .. this is great value as the mini magazine, 20p A5 booklet has much inspiration inside for Copic lovers! Get yours here!

Some Odd Girl July release stamps are now available to purchase here at Mad for Markers.. these are just too adorable and you can see them in all their glory on the Some Odd girl blog where the DT have been doing sneak peeks for the last week or so!

DT news
*** We have had some DT changes again... we are happy to welcome Honor ( who you might remember as one of our past GDT members) to the team!!

*** also, I just wanted to let you now that the lovely Alicia is now co-ordinating the Challenge blog for us!

Thanks for stopping by!
Sammi

Scrapping Saturday

2011-07-09T14:51:00.001+10:00

Welcome to another Scrapping Saturday… today I have a layout to share again using my favourite colour combo of Black, Red & White. I’m going with the flow at the moment working with this colour combo, because its just keeping my mojo flowing.
So to start with today I have some photos to show how I create my own embellishments to coordinate with my layouts, along with what my colouring looks like during the process, and how it ends up.

1. Original number printed off onto Xpress It Card
2. Number outlined using 0.5 Multiliner and coloured in with Marker R24

3. Shadowing added using R37.
4. Further shadowing adding using R27 & R29.

5. Blended with R24 over the entire number, also added a slight bit of R39 to the very darkest edges closes to the multiliner outline.

6. The finished number, cut out and mounted on to my journal block, using some Magic Mount.
Now for the finished layout… you will also notice that I used the same technique as above to create the rest of my title for my layout.

Supply List:

Copic Markers: R24, R27, R29, R37, R39

Xpress It Blending Card
Multi Liner 0.5 (used for outlining title, and also for journalling)
Pitch Black Spica (for faux stitching)
Hop on over to the Mad For Markers store, to pick up all your Copic and Stamping Supplies.
Rach

Another Red Hair creation and preview

2011-07-07T09:00:00.002+10:00

Good morning everyone. Tracey here to show you another Red Hair creation and a preview of the new images that will be available at Spesch Stamps this coming Friday.

This stamp is called 'Mushroom Flower' and she is one of six new stamps that are coming our way this week. I thought I would colour her hair red to go with the current challenge over at the challenge blog. Make sure if you want to enter that you do it soon, as a new challenge will be coming on Monday.

Okay enjoy and hope you enjoy the inspiration.

Markers:

Skin: E000, 11, 04

Dress: RV91, 95, 99

Hair: E11, 39, 29

Mushroom: Yg21, 25, 63, 67

Flower: YR04, 12

Grass: YG23