Blogsiversary Prizes & Coloring on Fabric

I'm back from a great, busy weekend~I want to thank everyone who left comments on my Memorial Day / Blogsiversary Prize giveaway.

The winner for my prize was chosen from Random.org
#297 is Dawn

Congratulations Dawn! Her comment was:

OMG love the camo card. I have been on my son'g ship and it is a real humbling experience. Wish everyone gets to visit a ship at least once in their lifetime.

Dawn, I know you will get a lot of good use out of this set for your cardmaking and scrapbooking. Enjoy those stamps and markers!

Now, on to more prizes!

For today's prize opportunity you need to check out our next design team member, Sally Lynn MacDonald and see what cool prize she's giving away. Leave a comment for your chance to win, then check back for the next blog prize opportunities all week long.

Meanwhile, I have a few questions that have come up recently about using Copic Markers on Fabric. I may have posted something similar in the past, but I want to bring up these points again since they seem to be coming up right now:

Copic On Fabric
People ask me frequently if you can use Copic markers on fabric. The answer is YES! They look great on fabric. A few things to consider:

1. Red inks will bleed when washed, so either use colors besides red (or brown since it has red in it) or only work on projects that won't be washed.

2. No need to heat-set, the markers are permanent

3. The markers will bleed out as you color with them since fabric is so absorbent. To avoid this just heat up the fabric before coloring and the alcohol will evaporate quicker, causing less bleed.

4. For a fine line you can use Copic Multiliners, however, those do need to be heat-set.

5. Don't airbrush on fabrics, since the dye doesn't soak down into the fibers enough.

6. ALWAYS work with scratch paper under your fabric.

When Stamping on Fabric to be colored with Copics:
Try using Brilliance Ink, Heat-set for best results. Sherrie Siemens has done many projects on fabric with Copic markers, so check out her blog for more examples.

Otherwise, enjoy playing with Copics on fabric! I have a couple pairs of jeans I've drawn on and I love how the markers look.The photo above is from a scrap of white cloth that dyed with Copic inks, then I went in with the colorless blender and added drops and swirls in for texture. I made this about 4 years ago, so I don't know what colors I used, regular cotton fabric (though any fabric works).

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!!

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

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!

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

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!

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!