Thinking Inking

Introducing a New Member of the Copic Multiliner Family

Welcome! I'll be back Tuesday night with my November MFT Release post, so if you are looking for the MFT Countdown posts, just scroll on down. :-)

Tonight I wanted to share one little news tidbit. First, almost every time I use purples or lavenders, or violets, I have people comment that purple is their favorite color. If you're one of the Purple People, you'll be happy to know that we have a new color of Copic Multiliner. The new Lavender Multiliner is waterproof and Copic-proof, just like the rest of the Multiliners. I recently received a couple of the Lavender Multiliners and thought that I would play with them and share tonight.

Isn't that a pretty color? The Lavender Multiliner comes in five sizes: 0.03. 0.05, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5. (I used the 0.3 below.)

I started with a light pencil sketch of a lake scene at sunset. The greenery was really so dark that it was silhouetted, so I took liberties with my scene. I knew that I didn't have to be super precise in sketching either; I mean, nobody else even saw the same sunset that I did! ;-)

Here I've used my new 0.3 Lavender Multiliner to clarify my main lines. I didn't use it on the clouds since I thought it might be a little distracting from the wild color that was going to be happening in the sky.

I used my warm gray 0.3 Multiliner for the clouds (and I probably could have just left them in pencil as well).

Next I had a bright idea that I thought would save me some coloring time. I airbrushed the base for my sky, water, and clouds, knowing that I would have to add details, but thinking it would be faster. Hmmm, not sure about that part! The biggest challenge with the way that I did it was that I ended up fighting "muddiness" in the water. (If I color it again, I'll probably color it the regular way.)

I used some 1" wide Post-It masking tape to keep my edges clean as I worked. The sky is pretty much as I originally airbrushed it, (other than the clouds), but the water was totally reworked.  The oranges in the sky really did look more intense in the water than in the sky, for some reason--I'm not making that up!

You might be able to see my color notes a little better from this perspective. Hope that helps!

And here is what it looked like after I pulled my Post-It mask off. It's not a frameable piece, but it's one more sample for my Landscapes Portfolio anyway! (One of our new 2017 Copic Workshops is a Landscapes class, and I'm working on filling my sample books for the new classes.)

You can find out more about the Lavender Multiliner family HERE. Thanks for stopping by!

Cookies Required: MFT Countdown Release Day 2

Welcome! We're down to Day 2 of the My Favorite Things Stamps November Release Countdown--Tuesday is release night! I have ideas just buzzing in my head for the Cookie Crumbs sentiment set, paired with the You're the Milk to My Cookie Die-namics set.

Today's version I kept simple and sweet--I wanted to try out as many of the cookie die elements as possible. ;-) So, we have a chocolate chip cookie, a pink frosted sugar cookie, and a peanut butter cookie. With that cookie trio, any day would be bound to get better, wouldn't it?

Keep in mind that while I linked all MFT products below, the links to the NEW release products will not work until Release Night, 10pm, EST on Tuesday, November 1. (All other links should work now.) 

I hope you have time to check out the MFT Stamps Blog for a complete list of participants in today's Countdown and to enter for prizes there! Thanks for stopping by today,

LLD Cookie Crumbs	Die-namics LLD You're the Milk to My Cookie	Die-namics Blueprints 25	Die-namics Blueprints 13	Smooth White Card Stock
Biscotti Prestige Card Stock	County Fair Plaid Paper Pack	Chocolate Brown Hybrid Ink Pad	Latte Premium Dye Ink Pad	Nuvo Crystal Drops - Gloss White
Scotch Quick Dry Tacky Glue

InLinkz.com

Holding You in My Heart: MFT Countdown Release Day 3

Welcome! No cute little critters here today, BUT I still have a really useful stamp set to share for Day 3 of the My Favorite Things Stamps November Countdown, Deepest Sympathy. Honestly, I have a TON of birthday stamp sets, but I'm always in short supply for certain types of stamps, one of which is sympathy stamps or even stamps appropriate for someone with a serious illness. 

For the flower spray beside the sentiment, I used the flower and leaves from the new Roses in Bloom Die-namic, but I substituted hearts for the flowers to help it coordinate with my sentiment. 

Keep in mind that while I linked all MFT products below, the links to the NEW release products will not work until Release Night, 10pm, EST on Tuesday, November 1. (All other links should work now.) 

I hope you have time to check out the MFT Stamps Blog for a complete list of participants in today's Countdown and to enter for prizes there! Thanks for stopping by today,

Deepest Sympathy	Die-namics Roses in Bloom	Die-namics Tag Builder Blueprints 5	Die-namics Blueprints 15	Die-namics Stitched Fishtail Flag STAX
Hybrid Ink Pad Nightshift Blue	Smooth White Card Stock	Nightshift Blue Card Stock	Proper Pinstripes Paper Pack	Versamark Ink Pad
White Detail Embossing Powder	Foam Mounting Tape 1/4"	Scotch Quick Dry Tacky Glue

InLinkz.com

Sitting Here Thinking of You: MFT Countdown Release Day 4

Welcome! There's more over-the-top cuteness in store today for Day Four of the My Favorite Things Stamps November Release Countdown: it's Polar Bear Pals, and for those of us who like to mix stamp sets, it coordinates beautifully with last year's Cool Day stamp set!

Shown above are the Copic Markers that I used on the Polar Bear Pals image. 

I ran both my ice sheet (a partial die-cut circle) and my icebergs through my Xyron so that I could get the glitter stuck well to both of those parts. But since it all started looking like one visual plane, I pulled out  my Copic Airbrush System and gave the ice sheet that the bear is sitting on a spray of B63 toward the back. That was quick and easy, and it solved my visual problem. :-)

Keep in mind that while I linked all MFT products below, the links to the NEW release products will not work until Release Night, 10pm, EST on Tuesday, November 1. (All other links should work now.)  

I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps blog to enter for today's prize, and to see a full list of links for the DT members showcasing today's release sets! Thanks for stopping by today,

BB Polar Bear Pals	Die-namics BB Polar Bear Pals	Die-namics BB Icebergs	Die-namics Starry Circle	Die-namics Blueprints 20
Die-namics Blueprints 25	Circle STAX Set 1 Die-namics	Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice	Grapesicle Hybrid Ink Pad	Heavyweight Card Stock Grapesicle
Smooth White Card Stock	Cool Diamond Microfine Glitter	Blending Card by X-Press It	MISTI	Foam Mounting Tape 1/2"
Scotch Quick Dry Tacky Glue	BG Scattered Surface Background

InLinkz.com

Favorite Person to Hang Out With: MFT Release Day 5

Welcome! It's Day 5 of the My Favorite Things Stamps November Countdown. Can you handle some serious cuteness? I hope so, because that's what we have with the Sweet Sloths stamp set! As always during release week, the new items shown will be available on release evening, Tuesday at 10pm, Eastern, on November 1. Links for new supplies at the bottom of the page will work then; all other links should work now.

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the Sweet Sloths images.

Besides Sweet Sloths, other new products that I used here were the Stitched Rounded Rectangle Frames Die-namics and the Kraft Collection Solid Stripes paper.

I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps Blog for a complete list of participants in today's release blog hop, as well as for information on how to enter the prize drawing on the MFT Stamps Blog. Again, links to NEW products below will not work until Release Night, 10pm, EST on Tuesday, November 1. (All other links should work now.) Thank you for stopping by,

Sweet Sloths	Die-namics Sweet Sloths	Kraft Collection - Solid Stripes Paper Pack	Die-namics Stitched Rounded Rectangle Frames	Die-namics Blueprints 15
Die-namics Blueprints 20	Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice	Elf Green Premium Dye Ink Pad	Blending Card by X-Press It	Kraft Card Stock
Smooth White Card Stock	Foam Mounting Tape 1/2"	Warm Diamond Microfine Glitter	Quickie Glue Pen

InLinkz.com

An Invitation and a Gift

Welcome! I have a mish-mash post for you today--both an invitation, and a line drawing. First the invitation: it rarely fails that soon after I get back from a Copic class, I hear from someone who says, "I didn't know about the class! When are you coming back?" And it's usually a year or more before any of us are going back for that same class. . . :-{

So, what's the best way to stay "in the loop" regarding Copic class locations and other useful information? It's really simple: <<Sign up HERE for the Imagination International, Inc. newsletter.>> Among other things, you'll always know when a class is coming to either your state or to an adjacent state! You'll also get notice of articles on the Copic Inspire Blog. I have learned a LOT from Inspire Blog posts, sometimes from people who use Copics the way that I do, but often from people who use them very differently from me. And I like that. It opens my mind to possibilities and inspires creativity. You won't get a mailbox full of e-mail. I'm thinking that I get less than one newsletter a week. So--nudge, nudge--go sign up!

Edited to add: If the newsletter link is not working in your browser, go to the bottom of almost any page on the Imagination International website, and on the bottom right there will be a place for you to subscribe to the newsletter. Hope that helps!

On a related topic, I had an article on the Inspire Blog earlier this month with the stepped out process of sketching, inking, and making a card (top of this post) from the little hydrangea image shown below. I don't think anybody has even found that article yet! So I thought I'd give it a little "woot, woot" and also give you the image, in case you'd like to color it. Download artwork HERE  It's a pretty simple image to color; I did a good bit of the shading for you with all of that stippling!

Finally, since I've already hit the topic of Copic classes, I just wanted to remind you that the 2017 Copic Certification and Workshop classes are just around the corner. Our Phoenix classes in conjunction with 2017 Winter CHA are already open. Interested? You can find more information HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Ornament Card Set: MFT Cooler with You Kit RELEASE

Welcome! It's Release Night for the MFT Stamps Cooler with You Kit, and I have a set of three more cards to share. I combined images from the Cooler with You stamp set with last month's Die-namics Tag Builder Blueprints 6 to create ornaments--a card and a simple gift in one. 

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the Cooler with You images.

My cards are slightly smaller than A-2 sized, at 3-5/8" x 4-5/8".

Again, the Cooler with You Kit is available right now HERE at MFT Stamps.

Be sure to visit the MFT Stamps Blog to see more linked samples and to enter for a chance to win a prize! Thank you for visiting,

Cooler with You Card Kit	Die-namics Tag Builder Blueprints 6	Die-namics Cross-Stitch Rectangle STAX	Blueberry Prestige Card Stock	Cement Gray Prestige Card Stock
Sour Apple Card Stock	Wild Cherry Card Stock	Silver Sparkle Card Stock	Blending Card by X-Press It	Cool Diamond Microfine Glitter
Sweet Tooth Card Stock	Foam Mounting Tape 1/4"

InLinkz.com

To My Coolest Friend: MFT Cooler With You Kit Out of the Box

Welcome! I'm back again today with a second MFT Stamps Cooler with You Kit card, this one being an "out of the box" version. When I began, I knew that I wanted to use the Snow-Capped Mountains Die-namics on this card, combined with the fishing bear image; but the rest just evolved as I played with the images and colors.

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the Cooler with You images. The sky and water are airbrushed, and the rest is colored normally with markers.

I lit this scene from the left since the bear was facing that way as he fished The snow-capped mountains are covered with glitter--I just can't help myself when there's snow involved! The Cooler with You kit is darling, and I'll have one more post with it tomorrow night.

I hope you get a chance to see what the other girls have done with their out-of-the-box version of this month's card kit--I know that you'll get some great ideas! Also remember to leave a comment on the MFT Stamps blog for a chance to win prizes there. The MFT Cooler with You Kit will be released on Tuesday night, October 18, at 10pm Eastern time. At that time, all links at the bottom of this post should work.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Cooler with You Card Kit	Die-namics Wonky Stitched Rectangle STAX	Die-namics Snow-Capped Mountains	Die-namics Blueprints 25	Cool Diamond Microfine Glitter
Blending Card by X-Press It	Sweet Tooth Card Stock	Blueberry Hybrid Ink Pad	Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice	Foam Mounting Tape 1/4"
Scotch Quick Dry Tacky Glue

InLinkz.com

It's All Downhill: MFT Cooler With You Kit In the Box

Welcome! It's KIT TIME again at My Favorite Things Stamps, and I'm loving this month's Cooler with You card kit! Shown above is my "In the Box" version, meaning that I was supposed to stick with materials found in the kit, other than very basic supplies such as a coloring medium of choice, paper cutter, or basic shape dies. 

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the Cooler with You images. The blue background was airbrushed, though you could simply use colored cardstock or your coloring medium of choice if you don't have an airbrush system.

My little bear slides down the hill on his sled using the included Die-namics that cuts a path fitting the accompanying stitched hill die. 

 I hope that you get a chance to check out the MFT Stamps blog for

• complete details on this month's fabulous kit,
• information on how YOU can win a prize by leaving a comment of both countdown posts on the MFT Stamps blog, and
• a link list of those showcasing today's in-the-box version of the Cooler with You Kit.

It will be inspiring, I promise! Again, the Cooler with You kit will be released on Tuesday night, October 18, at 10pm Eastern time. At that time, all links at the bottom of my post should work.

Thanks for visiting!

Cooler with You Card Kit

Scotch Quick Dry Tacky Glue

Foam Mounting Tape 1/4"

Blending Card by X-Press It

Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice

InLinkz.com

Warm Wishes: Power Poppy Chickadee and Barberry

Welcome! I'm waving from Maryland today--teaching my last Copic Workshop of 2016. Today's newest digital release from Power Poppy Stamps is the lovely Chickadee and Barberry image and sentiments. I stepped it out below as I worked.

First order of business was a simple tinted background; I lightly airbrushed Copic BG11 over the center of my image, thinking that if I kept the ink light enough, I would be able to use my colorless blender to push the ink that I didn't want to keep (such as in the snow or in the chickadee) through the back of the paper. I knew that the BG11 wouldn't hurt the leaves or branches, so it was a quick way to get a hint of sky in the background. Next I colored the barberries with the Copic markers shown above.

Here I've worked on the leaves. I'm continuing to push color through the back of the paper in areas too. Hmmm, maybe not quite as quick a background as I had thought! ;-} About this time, I also realize that I had outsmarted myself when I printout the Chickadee and Barberry image. I frequently rotate or crop the images as I wish to use them--that's part of the beauty of a digital image. But what I hadn't noticed when I rotated my chickadee was that there were icicles hanging off of the branches. Icicles hang vertically. Mine were pointing Southeast. Ouch. That wouldn't have been a problem if I had printed a small image on a big sheet of paper rather than on a quarter sheet. But a quarter sheet it was, and that needed to work!

I finally decided to crop the image so that I'd have enough paper to turn the icicles and let them hang straight down. The moral of the story: Planning ahead saves time. Not planning ahead stretches your creativity though, so it's not a total wash! ;-)

Here I've colored the Chickadee and the snow and branches, as well as distressing the edges of the focal image panel and adding some shimmer to the snow.

I used a glue pen to add some glitter just to the top edges of the snow in addition to the shimmer pen that I'd already used. Papers are from an older My Minds Eye Merry paper pad, and dies are from MFT Stamps. 

I'm linking to the Instant Gardeners who are posting today, but if you'll check the Power Poppy Blog, you may find some Bloomies showcasing the Chickadee and Barberry digital stamp set today too--enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

Power Poppy Blog

Barbara Walker

Broni Holcombe

Cheryl Scrivens

Debbie Olson (HERE)

Jenn Dove

Nancy Sheads

Joy from Me to You: MFT Release Replay

Welcome! It's Release Replay Day for My Favorite Things Stamps, and I have a clean and simple Merry Everything card to share. (So, another set that I couldn't stop playing with, obviously!)

Shown above are the Copic Markers that I used to color the Merry Everything deer and gift images. I hand-trimmed just a bit of white cardstock off of the bottom of the gift die-cut so that I could have the gift appear to be sitting directly on his saddle. I also very lightly airbrushed the background with Copic B01 and the new MFT Moroccan Lattice Stencil.

I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps Blog for a list of participants in today's Release Replay post--I know you'll be inspired! Thanks for stopping by today, 

Merry Everything	Die-namics Merry Everything	Die-namics Blueprints 13	Sweet Tooth Card Stock	Blending Card by X-Press It
Chili Powder Premium Dye Ink Pad	Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice	Stencil Moroccan Lattice

InLinkz.com

To My Beastie: MFT October Release Day

Welcome! It's finally October release night at My Favorite Things Stamps, and I have another Beast Friends card to share with you--you knew that I couldn't put that set down, right?

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the Beast Friends images. I airbrushed the sky with B02 and used some Liquid Appliqué on the tree in the background. [Remember Liquid Appliqué? I bet you still have some in your stash too! It probably still works, if you can squeeze it out of the tube. ;-)]

All of the new October products are now available, and the links below should all work. Each of the MFT Design Team will have projects to share tonight, so please check out the MFT Stamps Blog for many more cool projects and products, as well as a chance to win one of two $100 Gift Vouchers by commenting on the MFT DT New Product Release posts by the end of the day on Thursday, October 6. Good luck, and thanks for visiting,

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BB Beast Friends	Die-namics BB Beast Friends	Die-namics Snowfall - Horizontal	Die-namics Tag Builder Blueprints 6	Die-namics Stitched Circle Scallop Edge Frames
Circle STAX Set 2 Die-namics	Die-namics Stitched Snow Drifts	Die-namics Stitched Fishtail Flag STAX	Cool Diamond Microfine Glitter	Tranquil Textures Paper Pack
Smooth White Card Stock	Blending Card by X-Press It	Heavyweight Card Stock Grapesicle	Boysenberry Premium Dye Ink Pad	Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice
Foam Mounting Tape 1/4"

InLinkz.com

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