mad imaginations..................

Well it really has been one of those months where crafting had to be put on hold for family matters .... my eldest daughter decided to return home . She arrived armed with boxes, bags, suitcases and a DOG !!!! not to mention jobless ! lol ...oh and totally taken over my craft room with all her gear !..
Ive managed to squeeze into a tiny space to do some crafting !
so without further ado here are my first challenge cards in nearly a month ! ( sorry folks).
Its Wednesday and that means The copic Colour challenge ! Its my turn and this week is my sketch so please pop over there and join in - you can use any copic colours you wish !
This week is sponsored by Peachy Keen Stamps and the DT where lucky enough to have a play with these fabby stamps ,please check out thier gorgeous cards.

Peachy keen stamp coloured with copics.

sleeping teddy

Some News !
Just before my daughter came home and managed to cause havoc ( like kids do !) I was invited to join the fabulous Whimsy Stamps Designed team , thank you Denise for asking me .
Whimsy Stamps have many fabby designs im sure you will have seen many on alot of blogs..
They also have a challenge blog too - you dont have to use a whimsy Stamp if you dont want to.
The link is here . would love to see your creations im am hoping to join in myself now that i have alittle time back for me ! lol

FRIDAY SKETCHERS CHALLENGE CARD.

This is the delightful Princess Emma from the whimsy Kids collection , i adored colouring her with the copics .
I used the sketch from this weeks friday sketchers for my card .

Copic Workshop News.
For those who have been waiting news of the copic workshops you can expect to hear in the next few days of the date of the August workshop. This will be the last date for Leeds until the middle of ~September.

Once again the copics colour challenge has come around and this weeks colours are gorgeous !
Charmed Cards and crafts are sponsoring this weeks challenge and you have a chance of winning a download of your choice .

The stamp i have used is Stamps Happen , unicorn and maiden stamp , ive had it for years but never really used it ! The card was for a friend and craft club member so i couldnt post it till now. I used a martha stewart punch for the fern leaves and distressed the edges of the image card and ofcourse the image was coloured using copics .It was quite a tricky image to colour i have to say but im pleased with the finished result. Please check out the other gorgeous cards from the Dt team.

Just Magnolia and Friday Sketchers.

Ive combined this card with the Just magnolia challenge and the theme this week is Summer , with the sketch at the friday Sketchers challenge sketch.
I used butterfly tilda and coloured her in with copic ciao markers . I love doing gradient shading which you can see on her dress .Her dress in the photo looks quite orangey but in real life it does look more pinky at the top , im not sure why it isnt showing in the photo.

Fancy a retreat ??? well if you pop along to Jo's blog you will find the details of The Northern Retreat click here PLUS the chance to win some copic markers !!

Have a great weekend folks !

I missed last weeks Dt card because i actually did the wrong colours ! how silly was that eh ! well this weeks copic colour challenge colours are

I do like that blueberry blue ! ( the chart is quite pale ) . Would love to see you joining in on this weeks challenge bloggers ! Please check out the fab dt cards on the copic colour challenge site.

Id like to combine this project with the Spoon full of Sugar Challenge , which is butterflies this week.

Well the workshops and the crafty day was brilliant , we had great fun and i just love meeting new people - i will post some piccys later on in the week !
Ive been busy comming up with some new project ideas for some workshops and crafty days..
Here is a cute little fairy house carrier complete with fimo fairy ! isnt she sweet !

The box is a timeless template and ive used blooms for the fairy clothes..
Ive designed the front of the box so that theres a little door , behind the door you can see the fairy as she is being carried !

If you would like to be put on the mailing list for this workshop please email ( addy on the copics ad) NO Fimo experince is needed to make this project and it will be an all day project.

Its wednesday and that means The copic colour challenge is here again ! Here is my dt card , i used a sugar nellie Daisy stamp - she is just lovely to colour !
The colours this week are ..

Hope you can join in ... remember you dont have to have the same colours - just pick the nearest you have !

Well ive had a very busy week ( sorry for the lack of blogging !) Two workshops and craft club ,
The next set of copic workshops are on the 6th & 7th of June and theres a crafty day with Demos on the 4th of June (see details on the right side of blog) ..

Well it was great fun and what lovely people you all are ! i have to say it was a pleasure to teach you all !
Thanks to Lynne at the Craft Den for the swift and efficent service of the copic pens !
A thankyou to Tracy from Creative treasures who brought with her some yummy blooms for us to buy and Bea from Ribbon Oasis who was armed with gorgeous ribbons - both i have to say went home alot lighter then when they came !!!! well.......... i mean how can you wave stash around at a crafter and expect to keep it eh ? lol
... heres some pics from the day ! I appoligise if i dont know whos card is whos ! my camera doesnt hold that info !

Jill, Angela , Tracy and me !

Melanie and Bea

buying some of Bea's gorgeous ribbons !

some of cards from the copic workshops - well done ladies !

A BIG THANK YOU to the lovely Jane who made Rachel and i a gorgeous sweetie tube ! thanks Jane xxxxxxx and ofcourse ...... Jane had something for calvin too ! his very own sweetie jar ! complete with CM on the tag ... he just love it !

Oh here we go......... well once a mouse is in love theres no stopping him i guess ... take a look at these pics !

He looks far too much of a happy chappie if you ask me ! .............

and of course you always get the one dont you ? The star struck CAlvin Mouse fan .... arh yes ...
....... The minute the mouse comes out to say "hello" and they turn into to a deranged fan ...

some people eh ???

It was my turn to set the challenge on this weeks Copic colour challenge and so for a change i thought it fun to set the challenge as a sketch.. You can use any colour copics you wish for this one so theres no excuse for not joining in !

Heres my interpretation of the sketch ... please check out the copic challenge for my DT insperiation and more info..

I combined this challenge with the Just magnolia challenge - stitches !
I used a white inkessentials pen to create faux stitching around the edges and a red whisper pen on the corners. The papers are from K and co Brenda Walton collection - these i think are just yummy !

Last week i made another card - only life got in the way to blog and enter it into last weeks challenge ! but im still going to blog it - i really enjoyed this sketch ..

I used a darker skin tone for this card - i really dont think enough cards are being made for darker skin tones , it can be tricky to get the right shade , but i always base the darker skin tones with pink shades first and build up from there .. you can use reds or bright pinks shades for the cheeks, and it helps to colour this on a few layers before reaching for the earthy tones.

There are still a few places left for the Copic Workshops on the 23 and 24 of May in leeds... i would love to see some of my blogging buddies there !Copics will be provided for you ...
We have great fun , I will be teaching you about copics and also how to shade like me ... lots of chatter and cake , card kit and lunch is included ... oh and a certain little mouse joins in too ! well .... you usually find him near the cake actually ... hehe !
For more info and a booking form please see ad on the top right on the blog..
love
maddy x

Its Challenge 12 over at the Copics Challenge Blog and this weeks colours are

There are some really gorgeous creations made by the DT team so please go and have a peekie!

I combined this Dt card with the Papertake weekly Challenge and i really love this sketch!
I used a sugar nellie windswept Elizabeth Bell Stamp and got my cricut out and mounted her on one of the Storybook frames.

Whilst doing a bit of blog hopping the other day , i came across a site that do downloadable templates. The site has loads !The cutting cafe I used the Heart Bag template and made a cute bag to match the card .
The papers are from K and Co Wild Rasperberry range .

This week over at the copic colour challenge , our colours are for Challenge 11...

My mint green BG13 was running out so i replaced with BG09 which i used for the leaves.
The image i used is Tilda and the papers are Minds eye and from the collection Bloom and Grow.
Please bob along to the copics challenge blog and see the gorgeous cards by the rest of the DT members - remember if your joining in on the challenge .. you dont have to have the exact colours if you dont have them - your closet match will do.

Now over the last day or so my boyfriend Calvin has been very quiet ! He has been busy doing a tutorial .. remember his fab wallet that was featured on the Inspirational blog ? well he has now put the tutorial on how to make it on his blog ... for a gander look here ..http://mishapsinthemaking.blogspot.com/

Copic Colour challenge
I made this tilda card for the copic colour challenge Dt . I drew the trunk of the tree myself as i didnt have a tree stamp - i was really chuffed that it turned out so well. The leaves are punched out from a leaf punch.

Now i have such alot of catching up to with sending things to friends ... as i started this card i thought to myself how nice it would be to make a holder for some stamped images to send to a friend of mine, i also wanted to put a little tutorial together for her for colouring with copics... anyway like i said i had sooo much catching up on this to do that i ended up making rather a few and joining in on some challenges too!.
Inside the card.

matching pillow box holder.

Stetch Saturday Challenge Card.
Calvin my boyfriend has been over and we spent the afternoon crafting on these... he made a fab card and his wallet he made into a sketch holder , you can see his on his blog here.

These are my makes from the crafty afternoon ! I decided to join in on the fab stetch over at
the Stetch Saturday blog .

Stamped images wallet

Just Magnolia Challenge Card.

I used my new Tilda stamp for this card - i love this cute stamp.
The wallet Template is from The Cranberry Card Company and i bought it 2nd hand.. i have used this template so many times its just so versitile.

Well well well .... theres a rat in calvins kitchen !!!!!!!

Hmmm looks like someone is a bit peckish !!

Ive had a little trouble with my pc the last couple of days so i appoligise for my copic colour challenge dt not being up ..Ive use a sugar nellie "daisy " image for this card.
This week the fabulous dt member louise picked the colours , please bob over to the blog and have a look at the fab work the dt have done and have a go at the copics challenge and your chance to win one of the charmed downloads.

Ive had two blog awards i would like to thank you for ..

thank you Donna for the lumas award x

http://bearlymine.blogspot.com/2009/04/prestigious-lumas-thorn-award.htmlllenge !

and also
Tina - http://tinascraftycards.blogspot.com/

Thank you girls for the award and the lovely words xx

maddy x

I made this little card and gift set from some papers i got from an old scrap-a- gogo kit .. they reminded me of chocolate ! sorry i dont know what they are called - i accidently threw the strip off!
The card has Tilda sat on a cake and i made some fimo earrings and a cupcake dolly to match.
The little box i made ages ago - Its called a mini pizza box if you look in google there should be a few tutorials on how to make it.

The little cupcake dolly has a hat with a cupcake shape and a cherry on the top !
she is also holding a tiny cupcake and looks like she is ready to eat it !!

The lid opens up to reveal the earrings cutely attached to a stand... I used a stamping up scallop circle for the middle ...

I cut up a cellophane card bag and glued it inside for the window.

When the earrings are taken out , they have there own stand.

I used a martha stewart punch for the bottom.

Want to know how to make the cupcake earrings ... well i think we are just in time for Calvin Mouse to shows --- p.s .... watch out for Rotty Rat in the photo..... calvin my boyfriend and his two girls are up for a week and Rotty hasnt been behaving at all !!!!!

CALVIN MOUSE CUPCAKE EARRINGS TUTORIAL FOR KIDS AND ADULTS.
some adult supervision and help required.

YOU WILL NEED..
CHAMPANGE COLOURED FIMO ( OR ANY LIGHT CREAMY COLOUR)
DARK BROWN FIMO
A BIT OF RED FIMO..
EYELET PINS
EARRINGS.
SUPER GLUE...( MAKE SURE AN ADULT DOES THIS )

Always soften the fimo first by rolling it into a ball and sausage shapes, this makes it easy to model. Always wash your hands before modelling..

2

ROTTY stop your moonies now Mr!!!!!! Calvin mouse is doing a very serious tutorial...

Its ok Calvin Mouse i'l put a screen up and stop him showing off !

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BAKE AS PER INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PACKET ... BAKE ON A TILE OR A PLATE ON THE MIDDLE SHELF.
10.

well done calvin that was a fab tutorial ... will you be showing us how to do your fab donuts too ?

Yep bedtime for you and Rotty , go have a wash and brush your teeth , il tuck you in when your finished..

All done ? teeth brushed and been to the loo too ?

Ok , now then just a few things i think we need to get straight Rotty , no more moonies ... you have to behave if you're staying here ....

Yes you can have Teddy in bed rotty, and calvin ... yes i know you have been good ..lol
right into bed both of you ..

Night Boys , and dont forget the easter bunny will be coming !

Rottys teddy was made by calvins 11 year old daughter...

Happy Easter everyone !

love
maddy and calvin x
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