Saturday, May 23, 2009

Memorial Day Blog Hop & candy

I was recently contacted by Cards for Heroes asking me if I would participate in their Memorial Day blog hop. What better way to celebrate the lives of those who serve our country than to show our support?

Cards for Heroes is an organization that provides blank, hand-made greeting cards to soldiers serving overseas who want to show their family how much they care. They don't have access to Hallmark stores, so they can't go buy their cards.

WE can help! Make general cards for all occasions and send them on to Cards for Heroes. The cards will be passed on to our servicemen and lovingly used for special occasions. Check out their blog for more information.

Meanwhile, post a comment on today's blog post and you are up for dibs on this patriotic stamp set I designed for Our Craft Lounge "All About the USA". (I'll also throw in a handful of Copic Markers- Retail value $40!!).

Then go visit the next blog in the hop, Sandy Allnock, president of Cards for Heroes, to see more ideas for Cards and the next link in the hop, then be on the lookout for prizes along the way. For the full Bloghop list visit here.

I made this very simple, manly card for my son to fill out and take to our local recruiting office (which is a few blocks away) as a Memorial Day thank you. (I have a hard time adding embellishments, ribbon or rhinestones to a man-card, which is part of the reason why this card is so clean and simple).

My 5-year-old son loves digi camo, so this Military paper by Reminisce will be a winner for him. The flag comes from the print on the backside of the camo paper. My son likes going in and talking to the recruiter, looking at all the neat stuff, and has stated many times that he would love to be a pilot in the military.

I used G85 and E47 Copic markers to make the square of paper and the stars match the dark brown/green from the camo print. Gotta love the ability to match any color!

For those of you who noticed that this set is different than the things/style I usually draw, that's because I designed this clear stamp set on the computer using Adobe Illustrator, rather than hand-drawing something and scanning it in. This set is perfect for scrapbooking, 4th of July cards, or cards to support the troops as I made above.


As I think of all the sacrifices made by servicemen over the years I need to stop and say Thank You!

My father, grandfather, and on back were all in the military. Here is a photo I found of one of my ancestors, Major General Henry W. Halleck. He was the General-in-Chief of all the Union armies before Grant took over during the Civil War.

His face is so similar to my father, it's hard to look at him and not think of all the stories my dad would tell about boot camp and basic training. My father was a teenager during WWII, and entered the service during the Korean War but never went overseas. My grandfather was an electrician for the Navy building the ships during WWII up in the shipyards of NY. All the hours of toil and struggle that these fine men went through so that I could be born in peace and prosperity and enjoy my country.

In February I had a chance to stop and visit the USS Alabama, which was built in 1940. Touring through the ghost of a ship was a sobering experience for both me and my husband. Thinking of all those men, away from their families for months at a time, sailing from the Atlantic to the Pacific, always on alert from weather or enemies... It really helped me appreciate my freedom and peace here in my homeland. I thank every person who has served, does serve, or will serve in defending and upholding their country.

Please do your part this weekend. Make some cards, make some artwork, visit a memorial, or just tell a military person "Thanks!" Don't forget to appreciate their hard work and sacrifices. Have a great holiday weekend!

Keep checking next week for more Blog Prizes from the Copic designers. Don't forget to leave a comment!!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Blogsiversary Prize Week

Blogsiversary Already!!
On June 1st it will be my 1 year anniversary of blogging, and to celebrate, I get to offer all sorts of neat prizes this week.

For Today's prize opportunity head on over to our designer
Sherrie Siemens
blog for a chance at a cool Canadian Certification Giveaway.

Tomorrow I'll post a Memorial Day weekend blog giveaway in conjunction with Cards for Heroes.

Next week I'll have some other great prizes offered by the other members of our blog team, so keep looking for your chance to win something special.

Meanwhile, I wanted to share some photos from the Portland Certification class we held this week. This class was special because the entire warehouse staff was able to come up and get certified. The first photo is our very own Kris, who helps get everyone registered for Certification classes. The rest of the photos are happy attendees busy coloring and learning, along with a photo of me showing how to do shadows on a snowman.

Check back tomorrow for the great Memorial Day blog hop and prize! Have a great weekend

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Check this out

Sharon Harnist, one of our fabulous designers just posted this neat coaster project on Ellen Hutson's Classroom. You make it with tumbled marble tiles and various inks. Check it out!

Any time you see a new or different way of using Copic products please share with us. We love seeing neat ideas that will inspire others. Don't forget about altered arts, calligraphy, illustration, or design- since there are lots of different people out there who use Copic Products.

If you haven't checked out the Copic Papercrafting Designers in a while I suggest you go and see what neat things they have been sharing:

Debbie
Michelle
Sharon
Sherrie
Sally Lynn

Also, a reminder if you are in Winnepeg, Manitoba and would like to get into the Copic Certification class on June 6th taught by Sherrie Siemens it is open to the public. Be looking tomorrow on Sherrie's blog for a special Canadian giveaway. We look forward to seeing you there!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Going To Portland

I'm on my way up to Portland today and will be gone until Thursday. Meanwhile, I'm still supposed to avoid posting but I have some announcements and a cute card to share.

Certification
The class in Portland, OR tomorrow is closed, so if you are trying to get in, it's too late, sorry. Likewise, Smithville, OH is closed.

Applications have gone out for:
Salt Lake City, UT June 11
Belmont, NH June 14th
Durham, NC June 28th
Orlando, FL July 27th
If you need an application and class info, please call.

Get on my mailing list for any other certification classes I have mentioned in the future, including a class held mid-August in San Diego, CA.

Dots in the Sky
Here is a card I made for a dear friend who lives far away. I just wanted to point out a quick element on the card.

If you look at the sky around the mailbox you'll see that I made little tiny dots. The reason I did this was to break up the plainness of the sky and tie my central image into the speckled/airbrushed background paper. It also vaguely hints at bugs flying around and you can picture a nice, hazy summer morning.

I challenge you to break it up a bit. Don't always color things realistically- add little repeating elements and textures to tie in different elements

Colors: I can't remember, sorry. Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Reminisce Patterned paper Stamp: Garden Thoughts, Our Craft Lounge Ink: Memento by Tsukineko Other: White ribbon, clear rhinestones altered with B97

Friday, May 15, 2009

e-mail problems

If anyone tried to send me an e-mail in the last two days it got bounced back to you. That problem should be fixed now, so if you have questions or applications for upcoming certifications that you have not heard back from, please try e-mailing me again.

Thank you for your patience!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

down for repairs...

You may have noticed that the Copic Website is down for repairs. I am also holding off on blogging since part of the repairs involve this blog. My e-mail is also sketchy right now so please be patient if I don't respond right away. Sorry!!

However, I am looking at having a Certification class in San Diego, CA sometime during the 3rd week August. Please sign up to our mailing list on the sidebar to get notified when I have a date for that location.

Here's some nice, old artwork to enjoy as you wait for more tutorial posts. The scales were made dot by dot with the tip of a Copic Colorless blender. I don't think I've shared this before, so enjoy. Thanks for your patience!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Catching up on a Monday

Time to catch up on a few points of interest and update you on Certification classes. I want to share things that appeal both to stampers as well as general artists, so hopefully you will find something of interest in my links today.

Copic Creations Challenge
The fabulous papercrafters over at Copic Creations are challenging you to make a Copic-colored card with purple flowers or Lilacs. Hop over there and submit your creation- you still have a few days left to win their prize.

Pen Addict Copic Contest
Check out this great Copic Contest hosted by my friend at The Pen Addict. He's got a creative contest going where you send him proof that you use Copics and you can win a cool bag of Copics. He also does nice reviews of pens and fine writing papers/sketchbooks. So if you like finding the best pen for your buck you should check out his site.

Illustration Friday
This week's topic is Hierarchy. Check out some of the other illustrations artists have submitted.

Anime Expo
Copic will be sponsoring this year's Anime Expo. If you love Manga and Anime and you live in So. Cal I strongly suggest you go, if only to people watch! Look for my workshops, we'll have some guest artists from Japan, and tons of cool, new stuff just for the comic artists out there. We will be easy to find, since our booth will be one of the first ones you see when you enter the vendor hall. Check us out for some great marker deals and one-on-one help.

My workshops fill up fast, so plan on showing up early to get a good seat where you can see. Perfect for beginner artists or people looking for different ways to use their markers. I'll have more details as we get closer to July.

Anime Expo runs July 2-5th this year at the L.A. Convention Center. Tickets are available from the Anime Expo website.

Upcoming Copic Certifications for Papercrafting
If you need an application for any of the upcoming classes please send me an e-mail at office1@copicmarker.com For more details about certification you cn visit the Copic website certification info page.

We still have a few spaces at the class this Sunday in Rockland, MA taught by Sally Lynn.

The Portland, OR class that I will be teaching on the 20th is open to the public. If you wish to attend please return your application right away to Kris: orders@copicmarker.com

The Smithville, OH class on May 31st is full. We have other East-coast locations coming up, so let us know where you are interested in attending and we'll get you registered for those.

Register now for Winnipeg, Manitoba taught by Sherrie Siemens on June 6th. This class is now Open to the Public, so let us know if you need an application. If you have returned an application but have not heard back from Kris yet, please send her an e-mail to make sure you are registered correctly.

Applications have gone out for the following classes- send me an e-mail if you did not get an application:
Salt Lake City, UT June 11th, taught by Marianne
Belmont, NH June 14th, taught by Sally Lynn
Durham, NC June 28th taught by Sally Lynn

Please get on my mailing list for July classes, August classes in Calgary & Edmonton, or for the Summer CHA class in Orlando. Use the form on the blog sidebar to get on my mailing list.

Also, we are still a couple weeks behind in updating the instructors links on the Copic Website. Please be patient if you took a class in April and your name is not up yet. Thank you :)

Have a great week!