Thinking Inking

Hang in There Bouquet and a COPIC Class Giveaway

 

Welcome! While our Copic educational team is enjoying a Summer break with our families, we are still working toward those Fall Workshop classes that will be here before you know it! Registration is open in THREE locations right now:

Chicago on August 19-20

Dallas on August 26-27, and

Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA also on August 26-27

Soon the rest of the Fall classes will be opening as well, so if you would like to be notified when a class in YOUR area opens up, be sure to sign up for a notification <<HERE>> at the bottom of the page. Workshop classes include  More Whimsical Faces and Hair, Vintage Values and Mono Tones, and Dress For Success: Clothing and Accessories.

The Remaining 2016 Copic Workshops
will be held in the following cities:

Charlotte, NC on September 9-10

Las Vegas, NV on September 23-24

Sacramento, CA on September 23-24

Boston, MA on October 14-15

Hanover, MD on October 14-15, and 

Portland, OR on October 14-15

To celebrate all this Copic coloring goodness, we are hopping through our Copic instructors and friends AND have a fun prize!

One lucky winner will win a pass to attend
a single Copic Coloring Workshop class
in the US or Canada in the 2017 season.

***(Sorry, but we will not be offering an alternative prize for those living outside the US or Canada. You are welcome to participate, but be aware that the prize will be for a class in the US or Canada in the 2017 year)***

So how do you win?

To win, you will need to answer the six questions at the bottom of this post! There is a question related to each of our bloggers today so you will have to check them all out! Then send a quick e-mail to Michelle Houghton with your answers. Please be sure to include your name, and e-mail address with your six answers so that the prize gets to to the right person!

Those who have all six questions answered correctly will be entered into the drawing to win the Copic Coloring Workshop. E-mails must be received no later then Midnight Eastern time, Saturday, June 25. Again, email Michelle Houghton HERE to enter.

As you may have guessed from my card, using a Taylored Expressions Wildflower Bouquet image colored with Copic markers, my favorite thing to color (and to sketch) is FLOWERS. I adore flowers--all of them! And I like to stamp them, sketch them, color them smell them--you know--the whole nine yards! :-)

Here are the SIX Questions that you will need to answer for Michelle:

1. What is my--Debbie Olson's--favorite thing to sketch and color? (THIS BLOG, and I just told you that answer in the paragraph above this one, underneath the close-up card picture above.)
2. What is Michele Boyer's favorite use for her Colorless Blender?
3. What technique did Lori Craig share on her blog today?
4. What is one of Cindy Lawrence's favorite ways to fill her backgrounds with Copic color?
5. What is Sharon Harnist's favorite Copic color?
6. Where does Michelle Houghton share a LOT of Copic information, besides her blog?

That's it--all the links that you need to follow are highlighted above. (I didn't give you a link to the first one, me, since you are already here.) Again, just send an email including your name, and e-mail address with your six correct answers to Michelle Houghton (michoughton@yahoo.com) no later then Midnight Eastern time, Saturday, June 25. Thank you for participating, and good luck!

COPIC Class Giveaway Post COMING ASAP!

So sorry to be late with my Copic Giveaway post! We had a family member admitted to the hospital late yesterday, and I was back there this morning early as well. I'm CLEARLY off schedule. I'm typing fast, I promise, and it should be up before 2pm Central time! Thanks!

Praying for You: Power Poppy Simple Rose

Welcome! Today I have a Power Poppy card to share, using the simple version of the Rose and Chamomile digital image.

Here is the full Rose and Chamomile image; I used the simpler version so that I could "fussy cut" a bit more easily.

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the Rose and Chamomile image.

Patterned papers are from an older line--oldie but goodie--KaiserCraft Kaleidescope 6-1/2" paper. I was concerned that the pretty patterned paper might complete for attention with Marcy's rose image, so I added a  layer of heavyweight vellum over the busier paper to tone it down and soften it just a bit. I hope you get a chance to see what the other girls did with the Power Poppy digital Rose and Chamomile image; the ones that I saw were lovely! We're happy to have Nancy Sheads of Rowhouse Greetings joining the Power Poppy Instant Gardeners too--welcome, Nancy!

Power Poppy Blog
Barbara Walker
Broni Holcombe
Cheryl Scrivens
Jenn Dove
Welcome to **Nancy Sheads** NEW!
Rhea Weigand
Debbie Olson (HERE)

Stepped Out Directions for a Shaped Card

Welcome! I had someone ask a question on Facebook yesterday that I knew would be more easily explained with some pictures. Since it's not the first time I've had that question, I thought I would put an answer here on my blog so that I could link to it next time someone asks! The question was regarding how to get a scalloped edge all the way around on a card, and the card just above was the one in question.

I'm sure that there are several ways to accomplish the same results, but this is my way. The cardstock that you see above is a 4-1/4" x 11" piece of cardstock, scored and folded at 5-1/2". I placed it on the MFT Blueprints 27 Die-namics, leaving the top of the die showing as pictured so that I do NOT cut the fold area.

Here is a picture of what it look like after you run it through your die-cutting machine. Notice that the fold is NOT scalloped. It is scored because of the stitching lines on the die, but it is not cut through. NOTE: I usually run this sandwich through my die-cutting machine two or three times to make sure that the die cuts though both layers of cardstock.

So when I stand the card base up, this is what it looks like--an intact fold, but no top scallop.

Finally I cut a single layer of the same cardstock and attach it to the card base. All scallops line up, I have a sturdy card base, and I have scallops at the top of my card too. This should work for pretty much any kind of shaped card, easy-peasy!

Hope that helps,

Hello, Friend: MFT Release Replay

Welcome! Today for the MFT Stamps Release Replay, I'm sharing a card using the Sweet Forest Friends stamp set, along with its coordinating Die-namics and several other Die-namics from the June release (all linked at the bottom of the post). 

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the Sweet Forest Friends images. I airbrushed the sky with a Copic B04.

I like that I'll be able to pair Sweet Forest Friends with Forest Friends from April of 2016, and mix and match sentiments too. I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps blog for a complete list of everyone posting for this Release Replay--I know it will be eye-candy! Thank you for stopping by,

Sweet Forest Friends	Die-namics Sweet Forest Friends	Die-namics Stitched Valley	Die-namics Blueprints 29	Smooth White Card Stock
Biscotti Prestige Card Stock	Sour Apple Card Stock	Gumdrop Green Card Stock	Hot Fudge Hybrid Ink Pad	Cool Diamond Microfine Glitter
Quickie Glue Pen	Foam Mounting Tape 1/2"

InLinkz.com

Winners of COPIC Shirts!

Copic shirt giveaway results: Using a random number generator, I chose three winners from Facebook sharing of our Copic Workshop post (out of nine people who shared that post, not counting Nancy Buchtel Zenke); and I chose seven people from twenty-four blog comments (not counting my responses to those comments).

Facebook Post Sharing Copic shirt winners are:

1. Renee Vroman

3. Marsha Alberty

7. Chris Neal (Charlotte, NC)

Blog Comment Copic shirt winners are:

4. Annastasia Sikel

5. Cheryl V

11. Lishamarie Hunter

16. Claire Broadwater

17. Pat C

19 . Lisa Lara

20. Cindy Link

I have also posted this information on my Facebook page. If you are a shirt winner, would you contact either Nancy Buchtel Zenke, or me (and I will just give you Nancy's contact information). Nancy will be sending these out to you. She will need your address as well as the shirt size that you prefer. Thank you ALL for helping us to get the word out about our Fall Copic Workshops!

Miss You, PIG Time: MFT June Release is Live!

Welcome! It's Release Time at My Favorite Things Stamps, and I saved my favorite card from this month's batch for tonight! I loved the Birdie Brown Hog Heaven stamp set, and I knew that I wanted to use it in conjunction with the new Oval Flop Card Die-namics to create an interactive card--something I'm usually a bit challenged in doing. . . ;-)

Here is what the inside of my card looks like. You can see how the front panel is scored by the Oval Flop Card Die-namics so that is has an image panel on both sides.

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used throughout the card (also on the inside images).

And here's one more view so that you can see a little better how the flop mechanism works. I hope you get a chance to visit each of the design team blogs for a wealth of inspiration! See the MFT Stamps blog for links and more information on the June Release. All of the new products from the June MFT Stamps Release are now available; the links from all of the countdown posts should be working. Thank you for visiting!

BB Hog Heaven	Die-namics BB Hog Heaven	BG Whimsical Woodgrain Background	Die-namics Flop Card - Rectangle	Kraft Card Stock
Biscotti Prestige Card Stock	Blending Card by X-Press It	Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice	Chocolate Brown Hybrid Ink Pad	Foam Tape 3/8"
Scotch Quick Dry Tacky Glue

InLinkz.com

Grateful for You Funky Flowers: MFT Release Day 1

Welcome! It's almost Release Day at My Favorite Things Stamps; Tuesday night I'll have one more card to share with you from the June release. Right now I'd like to share a card using several of the June sets, including the Bundles of Blossoms Background, Funky Flowers, and Grateful for You. 

I stamped the Bundles of Blossoms background on watercolor paper with Versamark ink,  heat embossed the image with detail white embossing powder, and then watercolored the image with Zig Clean Color Brush Markers. Next I stamped a few of the images from Funky Flowers, painted them, and die-cut them with their coordinating Die-namics. I cut four layers of the "grateful" sentiment with the Grateful Die-namics and glued the layers together for dimension. A little bit of arranging and re-arranging of the flowers, sentiment, and gray strip of cardstock, and this is what I came up with. I can see a lot of possibilities for the Bundles of Blossoms background!

I hope that you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps Blog for a full list of participating designers--you'll be inspired, I'm pretty sure! While shown below, the links for the NEW products will not be live until Release Day, June 7 at 10:00pm Eastern Time.

Thank you for visiting! 

BG Bundles of Blossoms Background	Funky Flowers	Grateful for You	Die-namics Funky Flowers	Die-namics Blueprints 27
Die-namics Blueprints 20	Versamark Ink Pad	White Detail Embossing Powder	Whip Cream Card Stock	Gravel Gray Prestige Card Stock
Watercolor Pad	Watercolor Brush Pens	Cool Diamond Microfine Glitter	Quickie Glue Pen	Foam Mounting Tape 1/2"
Glue Marker

InLinkz.com

Let the Summer Begin--and a Giveaway!

I'm back from my Grand Rapids Copic Workshops weekend; this was my last teaching trip until Fall. That makes it officially Summer--at least at our house! We had a small but delightful group in Grand Rapids. You can see from the Mo Manning Duck Face image above that we had some adventurous colorists this weekend.

I asked, "What color should we make her hair?"  

"Purple," came the first answer. So purple it was. . .

While some of us are finished until Fall, Michelle Houghton has one more pre-Fall Workshop Series in San Diego this coming weekend, June 10 and 11. Locations that we have coming up in the Fall are

• Chicago
• Dallas
• Edmonton, Alberta
• Sacramento
• Las Vegas
• Charlotte, NC
• Portland, OR
• Hanover, MD

Classes included in the 2016 Copic Workshop Series are

• More Whimsical Faces and Hair (Friday morning)
• Vintage Values and Monotones (Friday afternoon)
• Dress for Success: Clothing and Accessories (Saturday)

Now, on to everybody's favorite subject--a giveaway! Copic will be giving away a shirt to ten random commenters on each team member's class blog post and shares of the same class information on our Facebook pages. (So if you want two chances to win one of the ten shirts allotted to me, you could both leave a comment here AND share this Facebook post on your own Facebook page--make sense?) Entries for my blog and FB page will close Saturday, June 11 at 10pm CST. I will do a random selection of ten people and post winners' names both here and on my Facebook page some time on Sunday, June 12.

That's it for this morning. I'll have another MFT Stamps Countdown post going up tonight at 11pm CST. Thanks for visiting,

Meant To Be Enjoyed: MFT Release Day 3

Welcome! It's Day 3 of the My Favorite Things June Release Countdown, and I have a "beachy-keen" card to share today. I used the new Pure Innocence Fun in the Sun stamp set and coordinating Die-namics for my focal image and created a beach background for her to relax in.

Shown above are the Copic Sketch markers that I used to color this sweet little sunbather. I airbrushed the shore scene with my Copic Markers and Airbrush System. (Clink on link or scroll down to the post below this one if you'd like to see that process stepped out.)

I followed through with the same shoreline motif for the inside of my card, adding the die-cut beach ball to coordinate with the sunbather on front.

Be sure to check out the MFT Stamps blog for a full list of designers participating in today's release! As always, while all products (even the new ones) are linked below, the new-product links will not be live until the official June release, June 7 at 10:00pm Eastern Time. Thanks for visiting today,

Pure Innocence Fun in the Sun	Die-namics PI Fun in the Sun	Die-namics Blueprints 20	Kraft Card Stock	Biscotti Prestige Card Stock
Tropical Teal Prestige Card Stock	Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice	Tropical Teal Hybrid Ink Pad	White Pearl Kirarina Wink Glitter Pen	Quickie Glue Pen
Cool Diamond Microfine Glitter	Scotch Quick Dry Tacky Glue	Foam Mounting Tape 1/4"

InLinkz.com

Copic Airbrushed Shoreline Tutorial

Welcome back! I wanted to share a few stepped out pictures of the background process for the MFT Stamps Fun in the Sun card that I shared in THIS POST. It is actually a pretty simple process. I, well, may have gotten a bit carried away with how close together I put the waves. . . You may certainly spread your waves farther apart if you prefer.

First I tore a piece of paper to serve as a random-edge mask. Ideally, you would use masking paper since it has a slightly sticky side; but in a pinch, plain old paper works, as long as you have a way to hold it down. I happen to have a magnetic board (Essentials by Ellen Craft Assistant) that I love exactly for this purpose. If you pair it with strong magnets, you can hold almost anything down.

I started airbrushing with my Copic Airbrushing System and Copic BG49 marker on the bottom right edge, and simply kept moving my mask up after I finished an area. The mask that is on the bottom right edge is protecting my shore, and the mask that you see on the top left edge is the one that I kept moving up as I airbrushed.

Here I used the same mask that I airbrushed the water with to cover the water while I airbrushed the shoreline with Copic Sketch E53 and E57 markers. Instead of the medium broad (chisel) nib, I used the super brush nib so that I could get more of a spatter pattern rather than a smoother spray pattern.

After removing both masks, my card front looked like this. Hmmm, needs some foam!

I used a white Kirarina Wink pen to stipple and dab foam on the wave edges. While it was still wet, I sprinkled  iridescent glitter on the white foam for a little extra sparkle. (A girl can never have too much sparkle, right?) That's it--pretty easy, really! All MFT Stamps products for the finished card at the top of this post are linked in THIS POST. Thanks for stopping by,

Beautiful Girl: MFT Release Day 5

Welcome! It's that time again--countdown time for the June My Favorite Things Stamps release! On this Day 5 countdown, I have a twirling ballerina from the Beautiful Girl stamp set to share. After I colored this cutie, I knew that she needed to dance, so I die-cut a second image and sandwiched a clear thread (similar to fishing line) between the two layers so that I could suspend her in a window. If you wind her up a bit, she can twirl; but even if you don't wind her up, she flutters back and forth when you open the card.

Shown above are the Copic Sketch markers that I used to color the twirling ballerina and the flowers in her hair and underneath the window.

You can see  how she is suspended a little better in this photo. I airbrushed just a hint of Copic Y32 on the inside of the card so that she would have a glow behind her. All of the MFT Die-namics that I used are listed below in my supply list. You probably know the drill, but the links for the NEW products, while shown below, will not be live until Release Day, June 7 at 10:00pm Eastern Time.

There is so much more to see in today's countdown--I hope you have a chance to stop by the MFT Stamps blog for a complete list of designers participating in today's countdown! Pssssst: there are usually prizes to be won as well. . . Good luck!

Beautiful Girl	Die-namics Beautiful Girl	Fishtail Flags Layers STAX Die-namics	Oval STAX Set 1 Die-namics	Die-namics Stitched Mini Scallop Oval STAX
Die-namics Blueprints 20	Die-namics Blueprints 24	Smooth White Card Stock	Watercolor Wash Paper Pack	Hybrid Ink Pad Black Licorice
Hybrid Ink Pad Razzle Berry	Cool Diamond Microfine Glitter	Scotch Quick Dry Tacky Glue	Foam Mounting Tape 1/4"

InLinkz.com