Thinking Inking

Peonies: Thanks So Much

Welcome!  I just got back home from Atlanta this afternoon. Colleen Schaan and I had a great time at the Atlanta AME Show. We were crazy-busy the entire show; we had a chance to share Copics with many art teachers, art students, parents, and even a few paper crafters.

Just before I left home, I finished this card using Power Poppy Peonies Digital Stamp. Would you believe that after I purchased the digital image, I discovered that I'd already bought the same image in an acrylic stamp set a while back? (Anybody want to come help me organize?) I guess I must have really liked this image to buy it twice!

These are the Copic Markers that I used to color the peonies image. While I normally work light to dark with my Copic markers, I colored the blossoms on this image from dark to light, because I knew that I wanted to keep the top edges of the blossoms white or close to it. So I started with my darker value marker at the base of each petal, then quickly worked my way up to to a light value marker, finishing the top of the petal with colorless blender to soften the transition from light to the white of the paper.

To complete my card, I stamped (using the stamp set, not the digital image) the bunch of peonies repeatedly on the background using MFT's Pink Lemonade paper and classic ink. I used a Spellbinders Standard Circles Small die template to cut and emboss my focal image, Pierced Circles to frame my focal image, and the smallest die from Baby Buntings to create the sentiment tag. The ribbon is white seam binding dyed with Copic R81 Various Inks, a drop or two of R83, and a few drops of colorless blender. Finished card size is 5-1/4" square. 

Upcoming. . .

I'll have a couple of days at home before heading down to Detroit/Romulus to teach Copic Workshops this coming weekend, and then I'll be home for a couple of weeks before heading down to Dallas/Irving to teach Copic Standard and Intermediate Certification Classes. I'm hoping to see some of you there! Thanks for visiting,

 

Love You!

Welcome! I've been coloring a lot lately--mostly flowers, so I thought I'd stop and take time to make a cute card for some sweet little people. :-)

Before I forget, I want to let you know that
I've updated my Copic Classes page,
and I'm hoping to see some of you
in Detroit Workshops or Dallas Certifications! 

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the Love Is in the Air image by My Favorite Things stamps. I used my colorless blender on the background to add some extra texture.

I used several Spellbinders die sets on my card front, including Pierced Rectangles, A-2 Matting Basics A, and A-2 Bracket Borders One. Patterned papers are from Carta Bella's True Friends 6 x 6 paper pad. I've used most of my favorite pieces form that pad--time to shop again pretty soon. ;-)

I'm headed down to Atlanta for an retail show this weekend, manning [womaning?] a booth at the Artist Materials Expo with my friend Colleen Schaan--should be fun! Need some markers? Come visit with us. . .

Power Poppy Instant Garden: French Lilac

Welcome! Today I have a lovely image to share, Power Poppy's February digital stamp set, French Lilac. I'm pretending that Spring will eventually come, even though it's below zero here today!

One advantage of a digital image is that you can change image sizes for different looks. Two articles that I found super helpful on using digital images were I Bought a Digital Stamp--Now What?  by Julie Koerber and Digital Images: Part 2 by Allison Cope. Hope those help you too. :-)

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the French Lilac image--yes. a LOT of them! I also used a Lavender Spica Glitter pen as well as a white gel pen (after I finished with my Copics).

I love that little ladybug! After digging through several of my die sets, I ended up choosing my Spellbinders Labels Twenty-Five to cut and emboss the focal image (leaving a little part on the right side to fussy-cut), then Majestic Labels Twenty Five for the Royal Velvet (PTI) background layers, and both 5 x 7 Matting Basics A and B to cut the outside borders for both the Royal Velvet and the Winter Wisteria (PTI) layers. I dyed white seam binding with my Copic Various Inks. 

Would you like to see what the rest of the Power Poppy Instant Gardeners have done with the French Lilac image? You'll love them, I promise--enjoy!

Danielle Kennedy
Jennifer Dove
Rhea Weigand
Broni Holcombe
Cheryl Scrivens 

Thanks for visiting,

Colorful Copic and Art Squares Blog Hop

Welcome to the Colorful Copic and Art Squares Blog Hop! Today Copic is pairing with Inchie Arts for a blog hop. I've used Inchie Art Squares before, but it's been a while, and I really enjoyed playing with them again yesterday as I was preparing for today's hop.

What's special about Art Squares? Well, I'm glad you asked!

• Art Squares are the perfect canvas for creating small-format art.
• They come in six sizes (1 inch, 1.5 inch, 2 inch, 3 inch, 4 inch, and ATC).
• Art Squares come in seven colors (black, dark gray, light gray, kraft, dark cream, light cream and white).
• They are perfect for wet or dry media; they won't buckle because they are heavy weight.
• Copic markers and inks look amazingly vibrant and deliciously rich on Art Squares!
• Copic multiliners glide smoothly across the surface.
• Work on the “top” or toothy side for the best results. 
• You can mix and match your media! No warping, bending or curling.  

You can find more information about both
Copic products and Inchie Art Squares
at the links below. 

Copic Website

All In An Inch - Inchie Arts Blog

 

Our teaching and design teams have been challenged to put marker (or ink) to these precision-cut matboard surfaces and see what happens!

________________

 

 

I chose to work on a 3" White Art Square, using Memento ink and a Power Poppy Azalea cling stamp set. I grew up with Azaleas in our yard, and these brought back memories!

 

 

These are the Copic Greens that I used to color my image.

 

 

I colored the azalea blossoms with the pinks, reds, and yellows shown above.

 

 

Here I have added sky as well as using a green (Melon) Spica Glitter pen to add the stamen. 

 

 

To put my card front together, I used two Spellbinders die template sets, Marvelous Squares and Grand Squares (retired? Used only for impressing the square into the border of the Insulation Pink [MFT] cardstock). My finished card size is 5-1/2" square.

________________

 

Hop along with the talented designers below as they show you some more interesting and exciting ways to pair up two great products!  Thanks for visiting.

 

Elizabeth Allan and Jill Foster

Michele Boyer

Lori Craig

Sharon Harnist

Michelle Houghton

Dina Kowal

Cindy Lawrence

Lisa Lee

Debbie Olson (here)

Colleen Schaan

Sherrie Siemens

Marianne Walker

 

Clean and Simple Birthday

Welcome! My first order of business is to share the winner of my gray Copic t-shirt, and that would be commenter number 22, Lynn Gauthier:

Congratulations, Lynn! I have emailed you for your address. Thank you to everyone who offered class suggestions and welcome Jenn as well!

I needed a few guy-appropriate birthday cards and thought that relatively clean and simple was probably the way to go. First I used several Copic Various Inks "smooshed" on glossy cardstock and sprayed randomly with Copic Colorless Blender to spread and blend the ink. I cut that inked panel into strips, and then heat-embossed a sentiment from Papertrey Ink's Stylish Sentiments: Birthday stamp set.

I kept the backgrounds simple as well--Aqua Mist and Hawaiian Shores cardstock, embossed with either a Linen and Canvas impression plate, or the one that you see on the card that is standing up, which I can't find when I search for "impression plate" right now--sorry!! (Hey, use the impression plates that you have--that's what I do!) I rounded the bottom corners, stamped a sentiment inside, and I was good to go.

Thank you again for participating in the Copic shirt giveaway and welcome post,

A Colorful Copic Welcome!

 

It’s our pleasure to welcome Jennifer Dove to the Copic Fine Art Teacher Team!  

 

What exactly is the Fine Art Teaching Team and what will Jennifer be doing with Copic?  Well, the Fine Art Teaching Team is made up of a number of professional artists and instructors who travel across the country demoing and teaching at fine art stores and art schools.  Jennifer has already been busy booking demos and classes in her area!  

 

Jennifer has been using Copics since 2010, and her passion and enthusiasm are apparent to everyone she works with.  As an artist by nature, Jennifer is currently busy teaching Copic Boot Camp retreats, working on her own DoveArt Designs stamp line, and designing in mixed media, jewelry making, card making and altered arts.  She also has a number of excellent video classes available with Annie’s Publishing.  She is very excited to be adding this new teaching venture into her line-up.  

 

We know that Jennifer will rock the socks off of those art schools and stores and we are so thrilled to be able to welcome her to the Copic teaching family.

 

I'm the lucky one of the teaching team this weekend--I get to spend the weekend at the Phoenix Copic Standard and Intermediate Certification classes with Jenn, and she has some MAD coloring skills! The first time I encountered Jenn in a Copic Intermediate Certification, I was working my way around the room checking to see if anyone needed help. It was immediately apparent that Jenn did NOT need help--I just wanted to stand there and watch her color, because I was pretty sure that I could learn a few tricks from her!

 

To see more of Jennifer’s work, check out her blog at just4funcrafts.blogspot.com

 

 

In celebration of Jennifer’s joining us, we want to give YOU a chance to celebrate too. Our current Papercrafting Teacher Team has joined up for a welcome hop and we are EACH giving away a Copic T-Shirt to one lucky winner. To enter from my blog, please leave a comment in the comments box. You can either welcome Jenn, or if you plan to welcome her on her own blog, then perhaps tell me what kinds of Copic classes you would like to see developed. My comments will close on Sunday at 10:30pm, or as close to that as I can get. I will use a random number generator to choose a winner and let you know on Monday who won.

 

Visit the blogs below for your chance to win, and make sure to stop by Jennifer’s Blog and give her a big welcome! 

 

Lori Craig

Jennifer Dove

Michelle Houghton

Cindy Lawrence

Debbie Olson (here)

Colleen Schaan

Sherrie Siemens

Marianne Walker

 

Comments are now CLOSED for this giveaway;
I'll be back some time Monday with a a winner. Thanks!!

Dream the Impossible

Welcome! How about a non-pink card today? (Can I help it if I'm drawn to pink?) I was emulating some of my clean and simple friends on today's card, which is simply residing in my stash at the moment instead of being earmarked for a certain occasion. What do you think--encouragement, or maybe graduation? I heat-embossed two of the Whisper of Wings feathers in a detail white embossing powder, and then watercolored over the top of the embossed feathers with Distress Inks.

The feathers and sentiment are both from JustRite's new Whisper of Wings clear stamp set, shown above. 

I used a Spellbinders Pierced Rectangles die template to frame my top layer of cardstock, and a Fancy Framed Tags One (oops--might be retired!) for the oval with the sentiment inside. Ribbon is 1/4" white silk ribbon.

If you'd like to see more projects using JustRite's Whisper of Wings clear stamp set, be sure to check the blogs below! 

JustRite Inspiration
Heidi Blankenship
Debbie Olson (here)
Michele Kovack
Eva Dobilas
Kristi Schurr 
Marisa Job

Thanks for visiting,

Morning Glories for Mom

Welcome! Today I have a pink, floral card to share--who is surprised? (Okay, no one!) I grew up with blue morning glories winding around pasture fences, but I have to confess that they weren't really considered flowers in South Carolina; they were considered noxious weeds. I still remember the first time my grandfather saw a package of morning glory seeds in a seed display: "Why on earth would anybody plant weeds?" he asked. . . Hmmmm, in spite of my early indoctrination, I still think they are pretty! 

 

Shown above are both JustRite stamp sets that I used on my card, Morning Glory Cling Stamps and Upcycled Woodgrain Cling Background Stamp. Aren't they pretty? I used the Morning Glory SVG digital cutting file to cut the morning glories shape before stamping it.

I colored the morning glories image with these Copic markers: R30, R32, and R35 for the blossoms, and G40, G43, G28, and a few touches of YG01 to warm things up a bit on the leaves. Flower centers were YR31 and 0, and I used BV23 for cast shadows. I dyed white seam binding with R30 and R32 Copic Various Inks. 

I used two Spellbinders die sets on my card, my old standby Pierced Rectangles for the outside of the background, and Fleur de Elegance for the sentiment panel.

Before I forget, all JustRite Background stamps are 25% off through February 10. If you'd like to see more projects featuring either Morning Glory Cling Stamps or Upcycled Woodgrain Cling Background Stamp, I hope you get a chance to check out the following blog posts:

JustRite Inspiration
Debbie Olson (here)
Michele Kovack
Heidi Blankenship
Eva Dobilas
Darsie Bruno
Angela Barkhouse
Kathy Jones 
Sheri Holt 
Kristi Schurr

Thanks for visiting today!