Thinking Inking

Great Prices on Remaining Copic Markers!

I had hoped to get a card made today, but we were plugging away at taxes for the second day in a row. Arrrgggghh! So how about a public service announcement? This is VERY limited time offer--expires on March 31, so I wanted to share even without an accompanying card.If you are looking for a SWEET deal on Copic markers, be sure to check out this offer that went to all COPIC subscribers:

https://www.copicmarker.com/

CODE: SPRINGTIME25

With the SPRINGTIME25 code, markers are 25% off of the store price, which makes Sketch markers $3.93 and Ciao $2.70.  

$5 shipping and over $99 ships for free

Expires 3/31/19  

This is the BEST deal that I have ever seen, and it is substantially below what I paid for the last markers that I purchased. I think they are out of refills, and I'm sure that some colors are gone already, but it's a great deal if they happen to have what you are looking for. 

This is NOT an affiliate link--I am just sharing because it's a great deal. Hope that helps!

You are Loved {A Lot}: MFT WSC430

Welcome! Today I'm playing along with a My Favorite Things Stamps Wednesday Sketch Challenge, WSC430. It's a pretty simple sketch--the best kind!--and I knew I wanted to use tiny flowers where the hearts were in the sketch. So I dug though my MFT floral sets for a small scale flower and ran across the Brushstroke Blooms set. It was perfect for my needs!

I also used the Watercolor Stripes background stamp inked in Cement Gray ink, as well as a sentiment from the Sweet Nothings stamp set. While it was a pretty quick card to make, I was still pleased with how it came together. I'll have to store this sketch for future use!

I hope you get a chance to check out the MFT Challenges Blog to see what the other DT members did with this sketch; we would LOVE to have you play along as well! Thanks for visiting,

Sweet Bunny: MFT Treat Bag Topper Kit Release

Welcome! It's release day for the My Favorite Things Stamps Treat Bag Topper Kit! I chose the Stacey Yacula Easter Bunnies stamp set to pair with my Treat Bag Topper today, because I loved it with the white chocolate Easter bunny that I found for my intended recipient.

Shown above are the Copic Sketch markers that I used to color the Easter Bunnies image. I stamped the bunny in MFT's Cement Gray Hybrid ink for a no-lines look.

Be sure to visit the MFT Stamps Blog for links to all of today's team posts on the Treat Bag Topper kit. Again, these products are now available at MFT Stamps. Thank you for stopping by,

Happy Easter Peeps: MFT Treat Bag Topper Kit

Welcome! I have a second My Favorite Things Stamps Treat Bag Topper Kit project to share today. How about another little Easter treat? I thought that the bunny Peeps would be perfect with the Cute Critters bunny!

Shown above are the Copic Sketch markers that I used to color the Cute Critters images. Patterned paper is from the Sweet Celebration paper pack. While the stamped images are from Cute Critters, the sentiment on the tag is from the Stacey Yacula Easter Bunnies stamp set--I needed one small enough to fit on a tag.

I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps Blog for links to all of today's team posts! These products will be available on Tuesday, March 26. Thank you for stopping by,

Love You Cottontail: MFT Treat Bag Topper Kit

Welcome! Today begins the My Favorite Things Stamps March Treat Bag Topper Kit Release previews. I've created three different treat bags to share in the next couple of days. I hadn't had a chance to play with the Cottontail Cutie Die-namics yet, so I thought I would pair it with the treat bag topper for my first project. The sentiment is from the MFT Joyful Heart Bears stamp set.

I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps Blog for links to all of today's team posts! These products will be available on Tuesday, March 26. Thank you for stopping by,

Brayer Ombre: MFT Tips and Tricks Challenge

Welcome! Today I'm playing along with the My Favorite Things Stamps Tips and Tricks Challenge. I have two cards and a couple of stepped out pictures. These cards were experimental, with one growing out of the other; so I thought I'd share what I did in case you have a brayer--remember those?--that could stand to see the light of day!  Ombré has been big for quite a while. I was thinking about the cool Kaleidecolor ink pads that I used to have (and probably still do if I look around for a bit!), and I thought I'd try approximating that look with my regular MFT dye ink pads. 

I didn't want to taint my ink pads (though one is a little dirty already); so I thought that if I chose my colors carefully, using the lightest in the middle, I could ink my brayer on the center pad first and then ink only the end of the brayer with the other two (darker) colors. NOTE: I wouldn't try this with contrasting colors like blue and orange, because it would probably trash the ink pads. I knew that if I stayed in similar color families though, I would probably be fine. Shown above is what my background looks like after rolling the brayer slightly from side to side as I inked my rubber. Remember that you also need to lift your brayer periodically and reposition it slightly so that you don't have light ink in one area and darker ink in another. 

When I finished, my brayer was obviously dirty, so I thought I'd try to get one more card out of it before washing everything off. I cleaned off my brayer on a plain sheet of smooth white cardstock, inking it heavily to cover the quarter sheet of cardstock. Then I let that dry completely before heat embossing it using the same Rose Background stamp inked with Versamark, and using detail white embossing powder. 

I used sentiments from the Anything-but-Basic Encouragement Sentiments set--my new favorite sentiment set!

I think it would be worth trying this same things with different colors and different background stamps--it's really simple, and definitely not a novel idea, but it's a solid way to get a different look from the same materials. Be sure to check the MFT Stamps Blog for more DT Tips and Tricks!  

Thanks for visiting,

Whipped Up Just for You: Club La-La Land Crafts March Release

Welcome! I'm pretty excited to share what I've been up to for the last few days--coloring up some sure-enough cute images from the March Club La-La Land Crafts Kit! Today I have a couple of cards to share with you, and I'll have an unboxing video ready on Tuesday, tentatively. On April 9, I will have a couple of different cards to show you as well as a coloring video. . . Yep--finally trying video again! ;-) 

Before I share my projects, I should probably explain how Club La-La Land Crafts works: it is a monthly subscription plan from La-La Land Crafts that includes three different kit possibilities, with this month's products pictured above.

PRODUCT KIT $39.99 (stamp kit AND die kit)

STAMP KIT $19.99

DIES Only KIT $29.99

Several project tutorials are also available to club members too!

Sign Up for the March Kit shown above will go through March 21.

So, here's my first card with Love to Bake Marci--isn't she a doll? I also used an image and a sentiment from the coordinating Baking Hamsters stamp set. And how about that Mixer die? It looks just like my 30-year old Kitchen Aid (that still works just fine, by the way). . . 

Shown above are the Copic Sketch Markers that I used to color the Love to Bake Marci and Baking Hamsters images. Patterned papers are from the Carta Bella Homemade Love DIGITAL paper Pack 2 (purchased from Snap Click Supply). I printed them out at 50" to get 6" x 6" paper. (I live two hours from the nearest brick and mortar crafting store, so digital/printable papers can be a great alternative if I need something specific in a hurry!) A stepped out .pdf instruction sheet of this card is available to kit subscribers.

How about more of those cute hamsters? (I googled "hamster images" to try to find different fur patterns, so that little guy on the left really IS based on a real hamster!) On the Mixer die, I used my Versamark pad very carefully to ink up the beater and the little knob on the front of the mixer so that I could use some silver embossing powder on them. 

Shown above are the Copic Sketch markers that I used on this card. Papers are from the same Carta Bella Homemade Love DIGITAL paper Pack 2 that I mentioned in a previous paragraph. 

So, do YOU want to play with these fun stamps and dies?
You can go HERE for the KIT details or to join the club!

Please note that affiliate links ARE used in this post.

Thank you for visiting,

Edited to add: Unboxing video Link is HERE. Thanks!

MFT and Friends: Two More March Release Cards

Welcome! It's March Release Day for My Favorite Things Stamps! All of the fun new MFT stamp sets and Die-namics that you've been seeing over the past few days are now available. I chose images form the Purrfect Friends stamp set for my first card, airbrushing a simple background and attaching my Copic-colored, die-cut images to that background. I stamped the three butterflies after airbrushing, using the colorless colorless blender to first push sky-color out of the way, and then then coloring the butterflies as usual after the areas were dry. (This works better with airbrushing than with traditional marker-on-paper coloring since airbrushing deposits only a thin layer of color right on top of the paper.)

Shown above are the Copic Sketch markers that I used to color the Perfect Friends images and airbrush the background.

Finally, here's a bonus card for today, because I had to keep playing with stencils and Ken Oliver Color Burst powder! I used the new Ray of Light stencil here, paired with the Happy Birthday sentiment. Even though the water runs under the stencil when you spritz it, I  still liked the result well enough to pair it with a graphic die that could hold it's own against all of that random color. I added some sequins in various sizes to finish it off after finally concluding that a bow just wasn't working out for me. (Color Burst colors were from the Brights set: Orange, Alizarin Crimson, and Lemon Yellow.)

Again, all of the new March products are now available, and the links below should all work. Each of the MFT Design Team member AND some amazing guests will have projects to share today, 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 on the giveaway, and thank you for visiting,

Encouragement Cards: MFT Release Countdown Day 1

Welcome to Day 1 of the My Favorite Things Stamps March Release Countdown! Today I'm sharing both the Mini Staggered Raindrops Stencil and the Anything-but-Basic Encouragement set again. (I told you I would use that sentiment set a lot!) I had purchased a set of Ken Oliver Colorburst Brights a few months back and hadn't pulled them out to play but once. Usually I airbrush with stencils, but I decided that a raindrop stencil deserved a water-y treatment! 

Shown above are the three colors that I used, and the amount of concentrated powder that I used. YES, it is super concentrated, and it doesn't take much. (By the way, I purchased these from MFT, but I don't think they are carrying them any more. I'm hoping that many of you might have purchased some too though and just need a nudge to use them with your stencils!)

Here I have spritzed my watercolor paper and stencil with water. After lifting my stencil, I spritzed lightly one more time in the lower right corner because I wanted my raindrops to be more distinct in the top left and more puddled in the lower right. You can scroll back to the top picture to see how that worked out. I will definitely play with these again!

I have one bonus card for you, just in case anyone else is like me and thinks, "There must be something I can do with this messy palette. . ."  I had used a laminated piece of cardstock as my palette, and I still had plenty of pigment left after my first two attempts (yes, two--I didn't show the middle one here since it was so much like the first one). Anyway, I gave the plastic sheet another spray and then just dipped my cardstock in it and jiggled it around a bit to get good coverage. I spritzed a little more, let it dry, and then used my Distressed Patterns stamp set and white pigment ink to add my faux spatters. Hey, three cards out of one mess isn't bad! ;-)

A tip: I generally let my cardstock dry completely, and then I leave it between the two plastic pads of my die-cutting platform overnight. It's almost always perfectly flat the next morning, even it if was warped the night before. 

While I have linked the MFT products that I used below, the links to the NEW product links will not be live links until release day, 10am Eastern Time, Tuesday, March 12. All of the other links should work now. Be sure to check the MFT Stamps blog for more March Release inspiration AND for a chance to win some great prizes! Thank you for visiting,

 

 

Painted Petals: MFT Release Countdown Day 2

Welcome to Countdown Day 2 of the My Favorite Things Stamps March Release countdown! Today I chose the Painted Petals set to share, pairing it with a sentiment from the Anything-but-Basic Encouragement stamp set, as well as an older stencil, Cascading Scallops. 

My card is pretty straightforward--three of the flowers and all of the leaves were heat embossed on watercolor paper and very loosely watercolored, while the other four flowers were simply stamped on white cardstock. The sentiment is in one long line, but I cut it into three  segments to fit the space that I had for it. I airbrushed the background over the Cascading Scallops stencil with four Copic markers: G14, YR21, BG45, and B63.

I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps Blog for a complete list of designers using today's new products AND to enter for prizes! Remember that while the MFT products that I used are linked below, the NEW product links won't be live until Release time--that's Tuesday (March 12) at 10am Eastern time.  All other links should work now. Thank you for stopping by today,

Blessings Today and Always: MFT Release Countdown Day 3

Welcome to Day 3 of the My Favorite Things Stamps March Release Countdown! At 10am Eastern time on Tuesday, March 12, the March release will be live, and all of the new products shown in the past few days will be available. Today I chose Stacey Yacula's Easter Bunnies set to share--it was too sweet not to color!

I airbrushed a simple background using a couple of MFT stencils and my Copic markers. I had masked with Post It Tape right inside the die-stitched line to keep the outside "frame" part clean.

Shown above are the Copic Sketch markers that I used to color the Easter Bunnies images.

In addition to the ones that I've shared here, 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 time--that's Tuesday morning (March 12) at 10am Eastern time. All other links should work now. Thank you for stopping by today!

You're Amazing: MFT Release Countdown Day 4

Welcome to Day 4 of the My Favorite Things Stamps March Release Countdown! I chose the Birdie Brown Best in Show stamp set and Die-namics to use today. I'm a dog-person. . . Even though we don't have a dog, I'd get one in a heartbeat if my husband didn't have a different opinion! All of that to say that I thought this was a sweet little stamp set--images and sentiments.

Shown above are the Copic Sketch markers that I used to color the Best in Show images.

While I have linked the MFT products that I used below, the links to the NEW products will not be live links until release day, 10am Eastern Time, Tuesday, March 12. All of the other links should work now. Be sure to check the MFT Stamps blog for more March Release inspiration AND for a chance to win some great prizes! Thank you for visiting,