Thinking Inking

You Lift Me Up: MFT Release Day 4

Welcome! It's Day 4 of the My Favorite Things Stamps Countdown week. Today I'd like to share a card using the Up in the Air set--it is just darling, and you have to see all of the animals that can ride in the balloon basket! All new products show here will be available on Tuesday, April 4, at 9pm Eastern time.

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used on the Up in the Air images.

I used patterned paper from the Tiny Hearts Pastels pack for my background. I added some texture to the large balloon with some Copic Colorless Blender and a scrap of denim. Finally, I used the 3mm sequins to decorate the pennants on the balloon. I loved playing with this little jewel of a stamp set!

Again, the new items shown will be available on release evening, Tuesday at 9pm, Eastern, on April 4. Links for new supplies at the bottom of the page will work then; all other links should work now. Thank you for stopping by tonight, and 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!

BB Up in the Air	Die-namics BB Up in the Air	Die-namics Blueprints 31	Die-namics Inside & Out Stitched Rounded Rectangle STAX
Sweet Tooth Card Stock	Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice	Blueberry Premium Dye Ink Pad	Foam Mounting Tape 1/2"
Mini Multi Medium Matte Glue	3 mm Sparkling Clear Sequins

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Toad-ally Awesome: MFT Release Day 5

Welcome! It's that time of month--My Favorite Things Stamps release time, that it! Today I have a Springtime Critters card to share with you, for someone who's "toad-ally awesome!" Keep in mind that all March release items that I use over the next few days will be available on release night, Tuesday, April 4, at 9pm Eastern time. All of the links at the bottom of my  post will work at that time.

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color my little toad-pal.

Again, while I linked all MFT products below, the links to the NEW release products will not work until Release Night, Tuesday at 9pm, Eastern, on April 4. (All other links should work now.) Be sure to 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,

 

Springtime Critters	Die-namics Springtime Critters	Springtime Blooms	Die-namics Blueprints 15	Die-namics Blueprints 30
Die-namics Blueprints 32	Die-namics Spring Scene Builder	Smooth White Card Stock	Sour Apple Card Stock	Limelight Prestige Card Stock
Razzle Berry Card Stock	Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice	Nuvo Glitter Drops - White Blizzard	Foam Mounting Tape 1/2"

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More than Coffee: Copic Skintones Set

Welcome! I was experimenting with the Copic Six-piece Ciao Skin Set earlier this week and thought I would share my findings. While I am fairly frequently asked about  Copic skin tone colors, I'm not fond of limiting myself to just a FEW markers. There are so many great colors, and so much variety in skin tones, that sharing three or six or even twelve marker colors seems a bit underwhelming. However, we all need to start SOMEWHERE, right? And if you need to start somewhere, then the Copic Six-Piece Ciao Skin set is a great place to start! Even if you have all of the Copic colors, perhaps one of the kids in your life is just starting to show interest in manga or anime, or art in general. A six-pack of Copic Ciao's might just earn you favorite Auntie status. . . ;-}

On the card at the top of my post, I limited my skin tones to those in the set shown above.

Listed above are all of the Copic markers that I used to color the Mo Manning Coffee image.

After I finished the first image, however, I also wanted to see how the set would work for darker skin tones. I knew that the Copic E-teens family tends to lean reddish brown, so I would normally add more neutral browns into the skin mix as I get darker in value. In the spirit of staying true to the six-piece set, however, I used only the four darker colors in the Copic Six-piece Ciao Skin Set in the image above. What do you think? It is on the reddish brown side for sure, but it worked pretty well. The E-teens are easy to blend, and the E11, E13, and E15 really are staples in my skin tone collection anyway (even when I combine them with other color families to tone down the reds.) The E93 in the kit makes a great blush tone, especially on light to medium skin.

The patterned papers that I used are from an oldie-but-goodie collection, Echo Park's Summer Bliss 6 x 6 pad. All dies are by MFT Stamps (Blueprints 15 for the main panel perimeter, Blueprints 31 for the small banner, and Inside & Out Stitched Rectangle Stax for the focal image). I used X-Press It Blending card for the focal image.

I will be back later tonight with the first of the My Favorite Things Stamps April Release posts. Thank you for stopping by!

Road Trip and Copic Fine Multiliner Set

Welcome! In addition to being deadline week (a.k.a. the end of the month), this also happens to be Spring Break week for our 17-year-old son. That means that Mama's got to get a bit creative to get her work done and still have time to do a few special things! Today we three took a road trip down to Green Bay to shop for school clothes. That's a two-hour drive, so of course I needed something to work on in the car! (I know that many of you really can't imagine living two hours from real malls, but it's not a bad thing, once you get used to it!)

In the car, I worked on a couple of rough pencil sketches for lettering projects (no inking done on those yet though), as well as a cacti piece for my landscapes portfolio. I took pictures of cacti near the Convention Center when I was in Phoenix in January for Creativation, so I took my iPad along to provide a reference picture. I finished a quick pencil sketch and got ready to ink my drawing when I realized that my go-to Copic Multiliner size, a 0.3 Multiliner, was probably going to be just a little too big for all of  those cacti needles!

Thankfully, I had a Copic Fine Multiliner set on hand and found just what I needed in that pack--a Copic 0.03 Multiliner, with a tip about the width of a human hair. . .

Yes, that's tiny enough for even cactus needles! ;-} If you need a good fine point pen that's both Copic-proof and waterproof, I highly recommend the Copic Fine Multiliner set.

All in all, it was a productive day-especially for a road trip day. (And, yes, my son found some good deals on school clothes too!) Now I just need some TIME to finish my cacti. . .

Thank you for visiting!

P.S. I'll have cards to share again starting late Thursday night.

Catching Up with You. . .

Welcome! I know that I've been MIA for a few days. I've been busy behind the scenes though, mostly working on class prep projects. It really doesn't matter how many times I've taught a class; I'm still usually scrambling to find a new twist on something or to collect just a few more portfolio projects. This past week has been spent for the most part on making notebooks and presentations for the NEW Copic Workshops that we'll be teaching starting next month already! (We've had one pilot run of the new Workshops in Phoenix at Creativation, but all of us will be teaching them pretty soon.)

All of my projects are ready for the Animals class, but I would like to get a couple more small pieces done for my Landscapes class. Lettering has been my biggest project lately though. Scrap paper doesn't stay blank for long in my studio--I keep grabbing markers and pens and lettering on everything!

I'm still adding materials to older classes too though, and with that thought, I also thought I'd share something that I just found this week in a book that I've had for a long time, The Copic Coloring Faces and Hair Foundation book. Did you know that in addition to all of the great information on coloring skin and hair, there is a common skin colors chart in the appendix to copy and fill in? I didn't know that. . . I guess I skipped that part of the book when I read it the first time!. ;-)

So I printed that chart and filled it in tonight to add to my Whimsical Faces and Hair resource notebook. I'll probably laminate it first since my notebook materials get a LOT of wear and tear. (Yes, lamination will affect the colors slightly, but at least I won't be re-coloring it every month!)

If you haven't read the Copic Coloring Faces and Hair, or if, like me, it's been a while since you flipped through your copy, pick it up again now and see what else you find!

Just to keep you posted on classes, I will be in Pittsburgh next (April 28-29) for Standard and Intermediate Certifications, as well as the Flowers Workshop. On May 19-20, I have my very FIRST new Workshops in Detroit. On June 9-10, I'll be back in Dallas for new Workshops; I'm hitting Texas three times this year!  I have updated my COPIC Classes Page to reflect all classes through the late Spring/Early Summer.

Classes coming up in April through June are the following:

• March 31-April 1: Cindy Lawrence for Certifications in Lyndhurst, NJ
• April 7-8: Michelle Houghton for NEW Workshops in Calgary, AB
• April 20-21: Lori Craig for Certifications in Vancouver, BC
• April 20-21: Cindy Lawrence for NEW Workshops in Orlando, FL
• April 28-29: me (Debbie Olson) for Certifications in Pittsburgh, PA
• May 5-6: Cindy Lawrence for NEW Workshops in Toronto, ON
• May 19-20: me (Debbie Olson) for NEW Workshops in Detroit, MI
• May 19-20: Cindy Lawrence for NEW Workshops in Philadelphia, PA
• May 19-20: Michelle Houghton for Certifications in San Francisco, CA
• June 9-10: me (Debbie Olson) for NEW Workshops in Dallas/Irving, TX

Thank you for stopping by today!

Hey There: MFT Doodled Blooms Card Kit RELEASE

Welcome! It's finally release night for the My Favorite Things Stamps Doodled Blooms Card Kit; I have one more card left to share--this one watercolored.

I stamped the large daisy image first, then created a mask for it and several other flowers so that I could lay a mask on each image after stamping it and then stamp the overlapping images. After I finished painting the flowers, I tried adding spatters with my watercolor brush, but I wanted more prominent spatters than I was getting. I used a spatter stamp from the Distressed Patterns stamp set to augment my natural spatters and liked it a lot better than way.

Be sure to stop by the MFT Stamps Blog for more inspiration using the Doodled Blooms Card Kit which is now available HERE at MFT Stamps! Thanks for visiting,

Doodled Blooms Card Kit	Distressed Patterns	BG Mesh Background	Die-namics Blueprints 27	Die-namics Interactive Oval Word Windows
Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice	Boysenberry Premium Dye Ink Pad	Periwinkle Premium Dye Ink Pad	Heavyweight Card Stock Grapesicle	Watercolor Paper Pad
Foam Mounting Tape 1/2"	Nuvo Glitter Drops - White Blizzard

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A Wish or Two: MFT Doodled Blooms Card Kit

Welcome! How about another Doodled Blooms card today? The Doodled Blooms Card Kit will be available at My Favorite Things Stamps on Tuesday evening at 9pm, Eastern time. I kept this one a little more traditional than yesterday's kraft versions, and I stamped a colored kit envelope to coordinate with the card front. 

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the Doodled Blooms images, as well as to airbrush the sky and ground. (I used a torn paper town to mask for airbrushed cloud shapes in the sky.)

The More Essential Sentiments stamp set in the Doodled Blooms kit has a TON of possibilities if you're looking for a sentiment for almost any reason. 

I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps blog for a complete list of participants in the Doodled Blooms Card Kit Countdown--I know that you'll see some great ideas! Thank you for visiting today,

Doodled Blooms Card Kit	Die-namics Blueprints 15	Die-namics Blueprints 28	Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice	Smooth White Card Stock
Nuvo Glitter Drops - White Blizzard	Black & White Basics Paper Pack	Black Licorice Prestige Card Stock	Versamark Ink Pad	White Detail Embossing Powder

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I Will Always Care: MFT Doodled Blooms Card Kit

Welcome! For my next three posts, I have cards to share using the My Favorite Things Stamps March card kit, Doodled Blooms. I'm a flower person--realistic, whimsical--doesn't really matter, because I'm an equal opportunity flower colorist. :-} And Doodled Blooms was a LOT of fun to color!

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the Doodled Blooms images on kraft cardstock. 

On the card with more flowers, I used only Copics.  While I used them with white embossing powder, I was careful NOT to color on top of the embossing powder. Coloring on top of embossing powder can sometimes affect the tips of your Copic markers, so I made sure to stay in the lines.

For the card with fewer flowers, I used the same Copic colors as listed on my Copic Color Maps above, but I added Prismacolor pencil for the sky and ground since colored pencil can lighten kraft cardstock. I also used some white Prismacolor pencil on the top right side of the two larger blossoms. 

I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps blog to see more inspiration with the Doodled Blooms Card Kit! Thank you for visiting today,

Doodled Blooms Card Kit	Kraft Card Stock	Ripe Raspberry Prestige Card Stock	Limelight Prestige Card Stock	Die-namics Blueprints 13
Die-namics Blueprints 15	Die-namics Blueprints 27	3 mm Sparkling Clear Sequins	White Detail Embossing Powder	Versamark Ink Pad
Nuvo Glitter Drops - White Blizzard	Foam Mounting Tape 1/2"	Mini Multi Medium Matte Glue

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Amazing Parents: MFT March Release Replay

Welcome! It's Release Replay time at My Favorite Things Stamps. Since I needed another baby card, I chose the new Welcome Baby stamp set along with the Party Banners Die-namics. Don't these make a cute pair? I absolutely love those little bow die cuts and can see using them often!

I used one of the Inside and Out Stitched Rectangle Die-namics for my focal image, leaving the die in place to mask the edges while I airbrushed a grassy background (Copic G43) and a sky (Copic BG 23, with a torn paper towel used as a cloud mask). Patterned banners are from the Sweet Celebration Paper Pack, and the background paper is from the Fresh Squeezed Chevron Paper Pack.

I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps blog, where you will find links to all of the other Release Replay posts for March! Thank you for visiting today,

LLD Welcome, Baby	Die-namics Party Banners	Die-namics Inside & Out Stitched Rounded Rectangle STAX	Smooth White Card Stock
Sweet Celebration Paper Pack	Fresh Squeezed Chevron Paper Pack	Tropical Teal Hybrid Ink Pad	Foam Mounting Tape 1/2"
Mini Multi Medium Matte Glue	Quickie Glue Pen	3 mm Sparkling Clear Sequins	Nuvo Glitter Drops - White Blizzard

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Owl-ways on My Mind: MFT New Product Launch

Welcome! It's Release Night for My Favorite Things Stamps, and I have a Critter Clan card to share with you. I chose the owl for my focal image because I loved his big, surprised eyes! I created a forest-y looking background with the Distressed Patterns stamp set, combined with some Copic-airbrushed sky. Next I used the Die-namics Birch Trees to add some dimensional trees on top of my stamped background.

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the owl image.

All of the new March products are now available, and the links below should all work. Each of the MFT Design Team members 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 fabulous prizes. Good luck, and thanks for visiting!

Critter Clan	Die-namics Critter Clan	Distressed Patterns	Die-namics Birch Trees
Die-namics Blueprints 15	Die-namics Stitched Rounded Rectangle Frames	Die-namics Blueprints 31	Blending Card by X-Press It
Gumdrop Green Card Stock	Natural Heavyweight Card Stock	Kraft Collection - Solid Stripes Paper Pack	Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice
Hybrid Ink Pad Jellybean Green	Hybrid Ink Pad Kraft	Mini Multi Medium Matte Glue	Foam Mounting Tape 1/2"

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Super-Cute Laundry: MFT Release Day 2

Welcome! It's Day Two of the My Favorite Things Stamps March Release. I was so glad that a baby set came out this month, because I've needed two baby cards! I just adore the Bundle of Baby Clothes Die-namics paired with the Welcome Baby sentiments. I used mostly the Sweet Celebration paper pad to die cut the clothing pieces and airbrushed a coordinating sky for those clothes to dry under. (Yes, I've just ordered my second Sweet Celebration pad--it's been well-loved and used!)

 

I kept the inside simple, using up the rest of the die cuts that didn't fit on my card front.

And that little die cut bow, not to mention clothespins and hanger?? {{{Love them!}}} 

While I linked all MFT products below, the links to the NEW release products will not work until Release Night, Tuesday at 9pm, Eastern, on March 7. (All other links should work now.) Be sure to 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,

LLD Welcome, Baby	Die-namics LLD Bundle of Baby Clothes	Die-namics Inside & Out Stitched Rounded Rectangle STAX	Die-namics Blueprints 15
Smooth White Card Stock	Watercolor Wash Paper Pack	Sweet Celebration Paper Pack	Nuvo Glitter Drops - White Blizzard
3 mm Sparkling Clear Sequins	Foam Mounting Tape 1/2"	Hybrid Ink Pad Blu Raspberry	Mini Multi Medium Matte Glue

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Showering You with Love: MFT Release Day 3

Welcome! It's day three of the My Favorite Things Stamps Release Countdown!, and I have card to share using the darling little Showering you with Love stamp set! I decided to do some paper piecing, combined with my Copic markers for this piece.

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the Showering you with Love image. Patterend papers were from the MFT Sweet Celebration paper pack, and I shaded on top of the patterned paper with the colors shown above.

Keep in mind that while I linked all MFT products below, the links to the NEW release products will not work until Release Night, 9pm, EST on Tuesday, March 7. (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,

Pure Innocence Showering You with Love	Die-namics PI Showering You with Love	Die-namics Blueprints 15	Die-namics Inside & Out Stitched Rounded Rectangle STAX	Sweet Celebration Paper Pack
Smooth White Card Stock	Blending Card by X-Press It	Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice	Mini Multi Medium Matte Glue	Foam Mounting Tape 1/2"

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