Thinking Inking

Wish Big Balloon Shaker Card

Welcome! Today I'm participating in a new My Favorite Things Stamps challenge called Hits and Highlights, which features different products for each challenge. This week's challenge product is shaker pouches. MFT carries several shapes of shaker pouches, including circle, square, rectangle, heart, balloon, and star.

I adore shaker pouches because they make it SO simple to make a shaker card, and who doesn't stand there smiling while you shake a shaker card? I can't even tell you the amount of foam tape that I've gone through over the years to make traditional shaker cards. So using a pouch, a die that fits the pouch, and a bit of glue really simplifies and speeds up the shaker card process! 

I thought I would use my balloon shaker pouch for a birthday card. I filled my shaker with 4mm sequins and a few die-cut pieces of confetti--easy! Next I airbrushed clouds with the Mini Cloud Edges Stencil and a Copic BG02 Sketch marker and airbrush system. I used a Basic Edges Die-namics to cut a bottom panel on which to emboss a sentiment, then put the pieces together with foam tape--except for the shaker pouch which doesn't need any foam tape--yay! Instead of using the die cut balloon strip, I used a length of white cotton crochet thread so that I could loop my string to go with the loopy sentiment.

If you've been avoiding shaker cards because of the assembly required, now is the time to try your hand at these addictively fun interactive cards!  Be sure to check out what the MFT team has created to inspire you today! 

Thanks for visiting,

Smooth White Cardstock

Berrylicious Cardstock

Razzle Berry Cardstock

Balloon Shaker Pouches

Die-namics Balloon Shaker & Window Frame

Stitched Basic Edges Die-namics

Die-namics Blueprints 13

4mm Summer Mix Eyelets

White Detail Embossing Powder

Versamark Ink Pad

Stencil Mini Cloud Edges

Copic B02 and Copic Airbrush System

Cool Diamond Ultrafine Glitter

Glue Pen

1/2" foam tape

Tombow Mono Glue

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Copic Sketch Fine Nib: Have you ordered yours yet?

Welcome! I hope you had a fun and productive weekend! We took a little road trip to go pick up our son who was at an engineering camp last week at Michigan Tech. I think we probably missed him more than he missed us. . . but it was good practice for Fall 2018 when he is in college, I suppose. (He had a great time!)

I have been playing with my Copic Various inks for the last few hours, but I need to let some epoxy dry before I can finish and photograph one of my projects to share. It occurred to me that I really haven't mentioned the new Copic Sketch Fine Nibs on my blog yet. So, the big question is--have you ordered fine nibs for your Copic Sketch markers yet? I think people have asked for a fine nib that would fit the Copic Sketch marker for as long as I can remember using Copics! I have a limited number of the fine nibs here (as in I have already used the one pack of three that I had), so I just ordered several more packs tonight. I won't be replacing all of my medium broad/chisel nibs, because I use the chisel nib for airbrushing fairly often. I thought that I would replace the medium broad with a fine tip on the markers that I have two of to begin with. That will give me a chance to see how much I am actually using the fine tip vs. the medium broad nib.

So far, I have used my fine tips mostly for two things: lettering and loose sketching. By the way, you should be aware that the Fine Nib is NOT intended for the Copic Ciao line--just the Sketch line.

I often use my Copic Sketch Super brush nib for brush lettering. But if I want a consistent line width--one that is similar to a mono weight typestyle--the new Copic Fine Nib fills the bill!

My next most frequent use for the Copic Sketch Fine Tip is for loose sketching in a sketchbook. If I'm working in marker, I tend to be more fluid and less worried about "fixing things" since I can't erase anyway. Using my Copic Sketch W2, my lines are light enough that if I want to refine them and color the piece, I will be able to easily cover the lines when I'm working on top of them.

Another thing that I've been thinking of experimenting with but haven't had a chance to try yet is pointillism--yes, think of Seurat's work! I think that would be fun to do with the new fine tip nib--just dots with no purposeful blending. (The blending is visual; the observer's eye blends rather than the artist blending.)

Finally, there's the most obvious use (which, of course, I haven't used mine for yet!), and that would be coloring in small areas. If hand control is an issue for you, the firmer Fine Tip might be easier to control than the Super Brush. 

 If you've tried the new Copic Sketch Fine Nibs, let me know what you are using them most for in the comments section, okay? Thanks for visiting today!

Copic Tips and Tricks: Using Empty Markers for Custom Colors

Welcome! I have an unusual post to share today in that I'm not sharing a finished project. Today is all about the EMPTY Copic Markers and how I use them. Empty COPic markers come in the Classic Markers, Sketch Markers, and Wide Markers.

Most often what I use empty Copic Markers for is to fill blending gaps. Up front I want to tell you that this is NOT a necessity. Is it possible to blend a BG 70 to a BG72 smoothly? Yes, it is; BUT you have to admit that the gap is easier and faster to bridge with that added "faux BG71!" Besides, it's a pretty color, and that's all the reason I need most of the time. ;-) Please Note: Any custom color in the pictures in this post is labeled with brackets around the color name. If you see a color name in brackets, that color is one that I have custom-mixed; it is NOT a regular Copic color.

With my BG90's, again, I've filled a blending gap by creating a custom color that approximates what a BG91 would be, if there were a BG91 available. Why? Because it's a fairly big leap from BG90 to BG93, and I simply prefer having an in-between value. This is not a matter of right and wrong; it is merely for convenience. 

The RV60's are a relative newcomers to the Copic collection. Whereas some color families have many members in the family (thinking of the R20's, for example), the RV60's have only two members--RV63 and RV66. So I wanted a coordinating marker that was a value or two lighter than RV63 in order to have a greater range of value in that lovely family. 

I tried several markers to find a base tone for RV63, shown on the left. But to pair with my RV63 and RV66, my custom color that I'm calling RV61 is my favorite. And if I need a step lighter than Custom RV61, the V000 works beautifully.  

 

Here are my RV60's now, with the empty marker filled and labeled on top.

I always save my empty Various Inks containers, then clean them out thoroughly with colorless blender so that I have a good place to store my custom ink colors. On my Custom RV61 above, I made a note of my proportions so that I can repeat them if I ever need to. If I am making a lighter shade, I normally start with half Various inks and half colorless blender. Next I test swatches on paper and then add more ink or more blender depending upon whether I need to make the ink darker or lighter.

While I have another two or three custom colors in my collection, you probably understand the concept from what I've already shown you. Every thing that I have shown you stays within an existing color family, but you do NOT have to do that--you can mix colors like a mad chemist and create your favorite blue or blue-green, or maybe your favorite purple if the "perfect purple" isn't available! I would not recommend mixing complimentary colors unless you want to create muddy grays: a rudimentary knowledge of color theory is helpful if you really want to get creative with your color mixing. 

What other uses might you find for empty Copic markers?

• matching a furniture color so that you can conceal a scratch (I've touched up our wood floors this way a time or two)
• creating colors that coordinate with your favorite inks or patterned paper
• OR adding another substance entirely (other than Copic Various Inks) to an empty marker: using food coloring so that you can decorate/write on/ or even airbrush dried royal frosting!
• adding any thin ink (but not inks that will dry out quickly like paint-based inks). While you may be able to water down a paint-based ink sufficiently to flow out of the nib, it will eventually dry in the marker and stop up the flow.

I would love for you to leave ideas in the Comments section if you can think of great ways to fill empty Copic markers! I hope that this has been helpful. Have a lovely weekend,

You Make My Heart Smile: MFT Stamps All Smiles Card Kit

Welcome! The My Favorite Things Stamps All Smiles Card Kit is now available HERE. I wanted to try a white-on-white card today, popping in those bright colors from the All Smiles Card Kit. It's not easy to see in the pictures, by the background is heat embossed in detail white embossing powder with the Bundles of Blossoms Background stamp.

I used glitter glue in the flower centers for a bit of sparkle, and lightly airbrushed a Copic BG01 sky on the cardstock behind the Stitched Rounded Rectangles Frames die cut. The sentiment banner is cut with stitched Sentiment Strips Die-namics.

Be sure to stop by the MFT Stamps Blog for more inspiration using the All Smiles Card Kit which is now available HERE at MFT Stamps! Also, check out the MFT retirement sale, because at 50% off, you will find some smokin' deals! Some of my most used stamps and Die-namics are retiring, so it's good stuff. ;-)

All Smiles Card Kit

Smooth White Cardstock (In Kit)

Plentiful Petals Stamp Set and Die-namics (In Kit)

All Smiles Stamp Set and Double the Smiles Die-namics (In Kit)

Bundles of Blossoms Background 

Peach Bellini Dye Ink

Persimmon Dye Ink

Persimmon Dye Ink

Pineapple Dye Ink

Lemon Drop Dye Ink

Versamark Ink

Detail White Embossing Powder

Stitched Rounded Rectangles Frames Die-namics

Stitched Sentiment Strips Die-namics

White Blizzard Nuvo Glitter Drops

1/4" Foam Tape

Copic BG01 and Copic Airbrush System

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Thinking of You Today: MFT All Smiles Card Kit

Welcome! It's almost release time for the My Favorite Things Stamps All Smiles Card Kit, which will be available tonight (Tuesday) at 9pm Eastern Time. I pulled out my Sweet Celebrations Paper Pack for color inspiration on this one. (Many of the colors in the Sweet Celebrations Paper Pack are also in the All Smiles Card Kit.)

I used my MISTI to stamp the flowers first with dye ink and then with a glue pad so that I could add glitter to the flowers--I love the MISTI for that! I airbrushed the background using a Copic BG01 and Copic Airbrush System, leaving a Stitched Basic Edges die in place as a mask for the scalloped edge. The sentiment strip was die-cut with a die from Blueprints 27. Oh, I almost forgot something GOOD! You will love an innovative feature in the Plentiful Petals Die-namics that makes it easy to align the flower with the die, without turning it around 47 times or so! I'm sure that MFT Stamps will explain more about that later. ;-)

I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps blog for a complete list of participants in the All Smiles Kit Countdown--I know that you'll see some great ideas! Again, the All Smiles Card Kit will be available tonight (Tuesday night) at 9pm, Eastern time at My Favorite Things Stamps. Thank you for visiting today,

All Smiles Card Kit

Smooth White Cardstock (In Kit)

Plentiful Petals Stamp Set and Die-namics (In Kit)

All Smiles Stamp Set and Double the Smiles Die-namics (In Kit)

Stitched Basic Edges Die-namics

Blueprints 27 Die-namics (for sentiment strip)

Sweet Celebration Paper Pack

Razzle Berry Dye Ink

Cotton Candy Dye Ink

Pineapple Dye Ink

Sour Apple Premium Dye Ink Pad

Periwinkle Dye Ink

Purple Rain Dye Ink

Essential Glue Pad

Cool Diamond Ultrafine Glitter

1/2" foam tape

Tombow Mono Glue

MISTI

Copic BG53 and Copic Airbrush System

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SMILE: MFT All Smiles Card Kit

Welcome! It's July Card Kit time at My Favorite Things Stamps--how about some summery florals this month with the new All Smiles Card Kit? For today's card, I chose colors that are in the kit for my first card, mostly because orange-y tones are a little out of my wheelhouse and I need to get out of my color rut once in a while! I also used only one non-kit die, Stitched Basic Edges 2, in addition to the floral and word dies that are part of the All Smiles Card Kit.

I stamped my smile panel collage-style, starting first with the largest stamps and working smaller ones in to fill the panel before die cutting the word smile. Next I attached the smile layer directly to my Smooth White card base and then cut a Peach Bellini panel, split with a Stitched Basic Edges 2 die, to pop up on top of the sentiment layer. Finally I added some glitter glue to the flower centers, along with some clear droplets to the Peach Bellini panel.

The All Smiles Card Kit will be available Tuesday night, July 25, at 9pm Eastern time.

Be sure to visit the MFT Stamps Blog for a full list of people participating in the All Smiles Card Kit Countdown today! Thank you so much for visiting,

All Smiles Card Kit

Smooth White Cardstock (In Kit)

Peach Bellini Cardstock (In Kit)

Plentiful Petals Stamp Set and Die-namics (In Kit)

All Smiles Stamp Set and Double the Smiles Die-namics (In Kit)

Orange Fizz Dye Ink

Peach Bellini Dye Ink

Persimmon Dye Ink

Gumdrop Green Dye Ink

Pineapple Dye Ink

Lemon Drop Dye Ink

Stitched Basic Edges 2 Die-namics

White Blizzard Nuvo Glitter Drops

1/2" foam tape

Tombow Mono Glue

4mm Droplets

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Fall Copic Classes Starting Soon AND a New Sketch Book!

I have a long post to share below, but I wanted to take a moment to let you know that we have Fall Copic Workshops  peeking around the corner already! We have workshops coming up soon in Chicago and Richmond, Virginia on August 18-19, in Boston on August 25-26, and in Lyndhurst, NJ and Edmonton, AB, Canada on September 8-9. Interested in joining us? Here's a link to the information and sign up pages! I'm teaching in Richmond next, then Lyndhurst, Minneapolis, and Austin, Texas this Fall. Okay, on to my post--thanks!

_________________________________________

Welcome! Do you ever lose misplace important things? Well I certainly do! I've been looking for my favorite Copic sketchbook for several weeks now, and I still haven't found it. So I decided that it was time to get a new Copic sketchbook--which obviously should cause my old one will reappear, right? After much deliberation, I chose a [drumroll here] 7" x 10' sketchbook. It's a perfect size for me--not so large as to be intimidating, but large enough that I won't usually be running off of the page when I start a piece.

When I was in South Carolina earlier this month, I took photos of many random things. A close-up of a green bean blossom has just become the inaugural piece in my new sketch book. I took pictures as I worked. And I bet you've never seen a bean blossom that's 2-1/4" high, have you? :-} I sketched in pencil and then used a 0.3 Cool Gray Copic Multiliner to reinforce the major lines.

Here I have erased most of the pencil lines. I kept the ones that were important to shading, but that did not need any hard lines. (By the time I was finished, I wished I had left just a few more lines in pencil, actually.)

I thought I would start with coloring the greenery in the background since that would get the largest part of the piece out of the way. That one purplish stem was something that I wasn't sure about. My reference photo was pretty dark and indecipherable in that area, but I remembered a purple cast and thought I'd just go out on a limb with the muted violet tones since I had SO much green everywhere else.

About that green. . . Yes, a LOT of green! Now, coloring relatively large areas of  mid-to dark tones gave me plenty of time to test the new sketch book and how it would respond to being thoroughly saturated with ink. I am happy to report that I had no shiny patches, even after layering a ton of ink--whew! That's a big one for me since I tend to overing and fiddle with a piece for far too long. I also liked that it was a little thinner than my most used cardstock, X-Press It, which means that it takes less ink to saturate the paper and let ink colors blend. (I still love X-Press It Blending Card, but I do like something thinner in a sketchbook.)

Hmm, now I'm wonder what kind of green beans these are? My bean blossoms are usually white. Purple runners, maybe? (Feel free to educate me on beans if you'd like!)

Now can you see what intrigued me about that bean blossom? I loved how it interacted with that rusty fence wire in front of it! Of course, my Copic YG's and E4-'s need to be refilled, mostly likely, but it was a fun piece, and it gave me a chance to put my new Copic Sketchbook through its paces. 

That's it for today; I'll be playing with the MFT Stamps July Kit in just a couple of days--hope to see you again then,

Cupcake Love Shaker: MFT Release Replay

Welcome! I have a cupcake shaker card to share today for the My Favorite Things Stamps July Release Replay. I chose the Happy Hippos stamp set, but used the cupcake stand rather than the cute hippos as my focal image. 

Shown above are the Copic Sketch Markers that I used to color the cupcake stand image from Happy Hippos; After coloring the cupcakes, I used a glue pen on top of the frosting and then added microfine glitter to the frosting. Inside the round shaker window, I used 3mm clear sequins as my shaker material.

Because the Circle Shaker Window and Frame Die-namics takes the "pain" out of making a shaker card, I find that I make them a lot more often than I used to! Thanks for visiting, and be sure to visit the MFT Stamps blog for  complete list of the participants in the July Release Replay!

Happy Hippos

Happy Hippos Die-namics

Circle Shaker Window & Frame

Fishtail Sentiment Strips

Inside & Out Stitched Rectangle Stax

Blueprints 15 Die-namics 

Smooth White Cardstock

X-Press It Blending Card

Bubblegum Cardstock

Dots and Stripes Confection Paper Pack

Tiny Hearts Pastels Paper Pack

Hybrid Black Licorice Ink

Circle Shaker Pouches

1/2" foam tape

Tombow Mono Glue

Quickie Glue Pen

Copic Sketch Markers: R000, R20, R22, R27; YR30, YR31, YR24; BV01; T1, T3, T5, T7, T9

Cool Diamond Microfine Glitter

3mm Clear Sequins

Birthday Surprise: MFT Release Day

Welcome! Just popping in to let you know that the July release at My Favorite Things Stamps is now live! For today's card, I chose the Happy Birthday to You Pure Innocence set--loved that cutie with the big present.

Shown above are the Copic Sketch Markers that I used to color the Happy Birthday to You image. I lightly airbrushed the oval background with Copic Y21 and W2.

I used the Stitched Mini Scallop Oval Stax Die-namics as a base layer for my little birthday girl, leaving the die in place as a mask when I airbrushed so that the edges stayed clean. Are you ready to go see the July Release yet?

All of the new July 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!

Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday to You Die-namics

Blueprints 15 (for polka dot background layer)

Blueprints 31 (for banner sentiment)

Stitched Mini Scallop Oval Stax

Itsy Bitsy Polka Dots Pastels paper pack

Smooth White Cardstock

Periwinkle Cardstock

Hybrid Black Ink

1/2" foam tape

Mono Multi Liquid Glue

[cotton string]

[Copic Sketch Markers and Airbrush System]

Happy Birthday Sketchy Flowers: MFT Countdown Day 1

Welcome! I'm back home again and happy to be sharing a Sketchy Flowers card for Day one of the My Favorite Things Stamps  July Release Countdown! That means that tomorrow, Tuesday evening, July 11 at 9pm Eastern time, is the July MFT Stamps release. 

I chose a purple theme for my card, starting with the Itsy Bitsy Polka Dots Pastel paper pack for my background, and coordinating a couple of MFT purple inks with the background (Wild Wisteria and Lavender Fields). I used a Stitched Dome Die-namics for my sky and grass background, leaving the die in place on the smooth white cardstock to mask the edges while I airbrushed sky and grass with my Copic Sketch markers (BG02 and YG05). The "you" is die cut with the You Trio Die-namics and glued together from three layers of die cuts. I chose a narrow flag from Blueprints 31 for my sentiment, which was stamped with the MFT All About You stamp set.

There are several fabulous new products being showcased today; I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps Blog for a complete list of designers playing along with today's new products AND to enter for prizes! Remember that while all MFT products that I used are linked below, the NEW product links won't be live until Release Day, Tuesday, July 11, at 9pm Eastern time. All other links should work now. Thank you for stopping by today,

Sketchy Flowers stamp set

Sketchy Flowers Die-namics

All About You stamp set

You Trio Die-namics

Smooth White Cardstock

Wild Wisteria Cardstock

Itsy Bitsy Polka Dots Pastels Paper Pack

Blueprints 15 (for polka dotted background)

Stitched Dome Die-namics Stax

Blueprints 31 (for sentiment flag)

Wild Wisteria Dye Ink

Lavender Fields Die Ink

Sour Apple Die Ink

Black Licorice Hybrid Ink

Nuvo White Blizzard Glitter Drops

1/2" Foam Tape

Mono Multi Liquid Glue

[Copic Airbrush System and Copic BG02 and YG05 Sketch Markers]

You Take the Cake: MFT Release Day 3

Welcome to Day Three of the My Favorite Things Stamps July Release Countdown! I chose the Happy Cake Day Pure Innocence stamp set and coordinating Die-namics to feature today.

Shown above are the Copic Sketch Markers that I used to color the Happy Cake Day image. I airbrushed the background with YR31 and N3.

I used a Rectangle Scallop Edge Frames die to frame my Happy Cake Day image and added three small Clear Droplets to the right of the frame to help balance the layout. This is a fun little image for the awesome girls in your life! While I linked all MFT products below, the links to the NEW release product links will not work until Release Night, Tuesday July 11, at 9pm Eastern time. All of the other links should work now.

Be sure 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,

Happy Cake Day

Happy Cake Day Die-namics

Smooth White Cardstock

X-Press It Blending Card

Tiny Hearts Pastels Paper Pack

Blueprints 15 (to cut tiny Hearts patterned background)

Blueprints 20 (to cut sentiment tag banner)

Rectangle Scallop Edge Frames

4mm Clear Droplets

Cool Diamond Ultrafine Glitter

Quickie Glue Pen

Mono Multi Liquid Glue

1/2" foam tape

A Hippo Bird-Day: MFT Release Day 4

Welcome to Day 4 of the July My Favorite Things Stamps Release Countdown! I chose the Happy Hippos stamp set to use today because I loved this little hippo and bird combination. I decided to make a shaker card from it and incorporate the Proper Pinstripes Pastels Paper Pack for a clean background print.

Shown above are the Copic Sketch Markers that I used to color the Happy Hippos images. I airbrushed the background with BG01 and YG03.

I use the 3mm clear sparkling sequins to fill my shaker, and foam tape to mount the hippo and bird on top of the shaker window.

I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps blog for a full list of participants in today's release posts! Just a reminder that while I have linked all products that I used below, the links to the NEW product links will not be live links until release night, 9pm Eastern Time, Tuesday, July 11. All of the other links should work now. Thank you for visiting,

Happy Hippos

Happy Hippos Die-namics

Blueprints 31

Blueprints 15

Stitched Fishtail Flags Stax

3mm Clear Sequins

Circle Shaker Pouches

Smooth White Cardstock

X-Press It Blending Card

Limeade cardstock

Hybrid Black Ink

Proper Pinstripes Pastels Paper Pack

1/2" foam tape

Tombow Mono Glue