Class updates & winner

Printers & Coloring
I want to thank everyone for their help in commenting on printer types and coloring earlier this week. As you can see if you read the comments there are many kinds of printers and inks out there. Some work for coloring with Copics, some don't, some need to be heat-set, others just need to have the printout sit for a while.

Skim through the comments to see if your printer type is listed. Otherwise, just carefully test your printer's ink before you print up a bunch of things to color. If in doubt, just photocopy it.

Prize winner
There were 120 comments, and our cute little bird has a lot of things he could be saying. I went to Random.org to use their number generator to find our Prize winner:

The winner of the prize pack is Carly!!

Carly said...

. "I guess Santa Claus really does exist" or
"Yes, Crafters there IS a Santa Claus"

2. I have a HP Photosmart C7280 All in One.
And I'm a Copic Virgin so I have no idea how they do with my printer. But, maybe it will be my lucky day & I will soon find out!

Carly, it IS your lucky day! send me an e-mail to claim your prize so you will no longer be a Copic Virgin.

There were a lot of really cute sayings, so I had a hard time picking a new saying for the birdie. Check back for the final colored image and what the little bird thinks about the snowman with the giant Copic Marker.

CHA, CHA, CHA
As we get closer to the January Craft & Hobby Association shows, we are also getting closer to having all the Certification classes for Feb-April picked out. If you or your local stamping store will be attending the wholesale only Winter CHA Show you can stop by our booth, #2563 to meet all of our instructors. Get to know your regional instructor and get a special workshop set up at your store. You can also get ideas about teaching your own Copic papercrafting workshops, so stop by and chat.

There are a few options during both the CHA Consumer Craft Supershow and the CHA Wholesale Show.

• If you are a store, design team member, or instructor/employee for a papercrafting store you can register now for one of two Certification Classes. These are Beginner/Intermediate classes and are intended for people who will be going on to teach what they've learned to others. Certificatins are technique only, and no finished product will be made. Classes run from 9 am to 4pm and you can pick either Friday, Jan. 22nd or Saturday, Jan. 23. Send an e-mail to nancy@copicmarker.com for an application. Note: Remaining spaces will open to the public after the first of the year. Get an application in now to be on the waiting list for these classes if you are not affiliated with a store or company.

• If you are a papercrafter searching for a good beginner workshop where you make a finished card and learn basic techniques you can take the Copic Cardmaking class during the CHA Craft Supershow. Friday Jan. 22nd from 1 to 3pm. Cost is $30 and you make 3 finished cards. Note: If this fills they will add extra sessions, so register NOW!

• If you are just wanting to hold, touch, color, and know why people are obsessed with Copic Markers you can stop by the SplitcoastStampers booth for a fun and cute make n' take all day, both Friday or Saturday of the Craft Supershow (if you're early they may also have cupcakes!)

Papercrafting Copic Certifications
Although the San Antonio classes this weekend are full and closed, there are still some classes currently open and will be opening to the public in the next few weeks. Sign up now for the waiting list even if you are not affiliated with a store or other papercrafting company!

If you need an application or to get on the mailing list for any of these locations please e-mail nancy@copicmarker.com
This list will be updated, so keep looking for more locations near you in 2010!
Jan. 10th, Sarasota, FL taught by Sally Lynn -Open to Stores and Designers
Jan. 22nd, Anaheim, CA Taught by Sherrie Siemens, Colleen Schaan, & Kathy Sanders Open to Stores and Designers

Jan. 23rd, Anaheim, CA Taught by Sherrie Siemens, Colleen Schaan, & Kathy Sanders Open to Stores and Designers

Feb. 21st, Shawnee, KS Taught by Sally Lynn. Applications have not gone out yet.

March 5th, Des Moines IA Taught by Lori Craig. Applications have not gone out yet.

March 13th, Lafeyette, LA Taught by Colleen Schaan. Applications have not gone out yet.

March 21st, Long Island, NY Taught by Sally Lynn. Applications have not gone out yet.

Have a great day, and have fun coloring!!

Digital Printouts, Testing Inks, & Giveaway

I know many of you like to print out blank pictures and color them in with your Copics. This is the technique I use when doing an Illustration, I draw it then scan it in, touch it up, and print it out. However, a lot of you still have questions.

Digital Printouts
Copic Marker inks will not destroy lines printed out from a laser printer or standard photocopier. This is because they are toner-based devices and the toner is fused to the paper so the alcohol ink from the markers will not destroy it.

Many of you are working with inkjet printers though. This gets a little more tricky and I can't say it will work or not. Each printer uses slightly different inks and you really need to test your printouts before you color and make a mess. My mom uses a really old inkjet and any kind of moisture will destroy a printout from her machine. However, we have a newer, large format Hewlett Packard printer with archival, pigment inks at work and the markers color just fine on things I've printed from there.

Testing Inks
Testing a printer ink is the same as testing any other inks. Print something out on the same paper you would regularly color on, then follow the steps on this older post to see if your ink will hold up without destroying your marker nib.

Another technique I frequently use is to make a blob with my marker next to the ink I'm going to be testing and "push" the marker into the ink line by over-soaking the paper. Here I am testing a cheap ballpoint pen ink to see if it will bleed with my markers. I'm careful to not let the tip of my marker touch the ink line. Work with a light colored marker so you can easily tell if it's messing up the line. This is the technique I show during Certification Classes.

As you can see, cheap ballpoint pens do not work well with Copic markers. However, if you have a large colection of ballpoint pens you can donate them to kids in Africa who need them for school through the nonprofit organization Pens for Kids. This would help them have a happy Holiday season and help you clean out some of the clutter in your drawers.

Happy Holidays Giveaway
Meanwhile, I have an early Christmas gift for you. Your very own blank picture to download and try coloring with markers.

I'll be coloring this later this week, but I first need your help coming up with something for the little bird to say.

You could be the lucky winner...

Simply leave a comment today with:

1. A suggestion for what the bird should say .

2. If you have an inkjet printer let us know what model (or kind of ink in the printer) you use and how well Copics work when you color printouts. If you decide to print this out and color it then you can also leave a link here to your finished piece.

Thanks for playing! On Thursday I will choose a random winner from the comments to get a mixed goody bag worth about $40 in Copic products. And I'll show some of my favorite things for the bird to say.

By the way, I was going to have the bird say "Now all we need is a Dame singing love songs..." You could probably come up with something better :)

Good Luck!

Note: This Contest is now closed. Comments are still welcome on printer types but prize winners have already been chosen.

Friday Art Links

This year has flown by and next year is just around the corner. Amazing how fast the years go when you're busy. I have a couple fun links for people today, and I hope you enjoy them or feel inspired by them.

For Papercrafters-

Archivers
When I was at Scrapfest in September Archiver's filmed a quick coloring tutorial for their website. This link will take you to my Beginner Coloring with Copic tutorial.

You can check out all of Archiver's other fabulous product tutorials here.

Fine Art Links-

Medical & Instructional Illustration
I was recently contacted by a fabulous illustrator and I wanted to show you his work. Jason Laramie uses many mediums to create his illustrations, including Copic Markers. Dig through his gallery a bit for some examples of his images.

Beginner Illustration Technique-
I love this blog in general, and here is a neat tutorial for beginners on how to take a photograph and with some simple filters in photoshop use it as a base for making an illustration. Dig through Holly's site, as she has some gems in there.

Ok, so I'll post another great tutorial next week. Have a creative weekend!