Earth Day Blog Hop!!

Welcome to the 2014 Copic “Earth Day” Blog Hop

Earth Day, April 22, marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.  Over 40 years later, Earth Day has become a global event with over 200 million people in over 141 countries getting involved in the fight for a clean environment. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Did you know that Copic markers and inks are a lifetime investment? Reuse and refill them again and again, without filling landfills. Of course you did! That's why you use them!


• Back in December of 2000, I received my first Copic Markers. Just last week I was teaching a church group at my house and the attendees were using those SAME markers I got almost 14 years ago!! They were my Copic Originals (this was back before they printed barcodes on the markers). I have refilled them many times, but never had to replace the nibs. Talk about a lifetime investment!

• When I first started working for Copic, we used to offer a mail-in refilling service, so we had a bottle of ink for each marker color, and we specially marked them. Do you know that we are still using some of those same bottles of ink 12 years later?? One bottle of ink lasts for many many refills. Talk about Economical!

• On the side of each various ink bottle is the Japanese recycling symbol. This means that when we do finally use up a bottle of ink we can recycle it.

Now, I guarantee that I didn't buy Copic markers way back when because I was thinking that I could bequeath them to my grandkids in my will when I pass from this life. I just thought that they were the most awesome art product I'd ever used. That's what makes it doubly special. Not only do they help my drawings look amazing, but I never worry about having to replace them, that my investment is still paying off. Quality means you buy it once. That's better for everyone.

Since Copics have given me so much, I want to give back a bit myself. Here's a fun free digi image you can download and color. Once you've colored it, upload it to instagram, the Copic facebook page, your blog, anywhere really, and share it around! With your post, please let us know how many years you've been using the same Copic markers.

Here's my simple colored version. I used YG11, YG13, YG17 B23, B37, B41, 0, Y11, N1, N4, R43, R59 and Y15.  I don't want you to color yours to look like mine...make it your own!! Add doodles, use strange colors, be creative!! Copic markers have brought me years of creative inspiration, and I want you to explore your creativity as well.


In celebration of Earth Day 2014, the Copic Education Team and Design Team has gotten together for a hop.  Visit each person’s blog to learn personal tips and tricks for refilling and caring for your markers… and possibly some pretty eye candy along the way. Be sure to let them know how much you appreciate their contributions.

Michele Boyer

Lori Craig

Sharon Harnist

Cindy Lawrence

Debbie Olson

Colleen Schaan

Sherrie Siemens

Copic Blog

(please note: Typepad has had some issues, so if some of the links don't work, it is just a technical glitch, and we will try again later)

When you’re done hopping, head on over to the Copic blog and sign up to be entered in the Earth Week Giveaway!  5 lucky winners will each receive a 3-piece Blending Trio or Color Fusion set, one Various Ink refill, and a 5x7 sketchbook.  

Granny Birthday card

This month celebrates three anniversaries for me. One of which is coming up this weekend, the other two are closer to the end of the month. The anniversary I'm celebrating this weekend is the first anniversary for Our Craft Lounge! Last year on November 14th OCL went live to the public after months of behind the scenes work. My other two anniversaries are 9 years working for Copic and 7 years being married to my dear husband.

Today we are also celebrating the birthday of someone here at work, so I made her this lovely Granny card. This card was made using the set Granny's Secrets, one of the 5 different Granny sets currently available from Our Craft Lounge.

Pre-Soaking with Colorless Blender
One technique I used on this card that you may not be aware of is the gray area under Granny's chair. I didn't have a light enough shade of gray within easy reach so I used my colorless blender and pre-soaked the area in which I wanted a shadow. Then I added my C3 and it was much lighter because the paper was already wet. It was also much easier to fade out the edges with the blender because the paper was pre-soaked.

Another thing you can't tell is that because Granny's dress has such a tiny pattern I colored it with the fine end of my Copic Original markers. The middle of each flower was colored with my R35 then I lightly touched it with blender to get it to wash out. One layer of the white silk flower I touched up with a yellow marker to accent the rich yellow center.

Markers:YR04, Y15, Y11, E33, E37, R35, C3, 0, E00, E11, assorted Spica pens, Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Prism Papers, Other: Prima Say it with Crystals and leaves for the photo.

I hope each of you has a chance to head over to the forums at Our Craft Lounge or their blog to check out their scavenger hunt and get a chance to win some fabulous prizes. You still have one more day to leave your entry on my last post to win a special Copic prize as well. Good Luck!

Coloring tiny areas with the Copic Original

I recently had the chance to work with the wonderful ladies at A Muse, training them how to get more out of their Copic Original Markers. A Muse makes tiny little stamps of simple images that are perfect for coloring in, but a Super Brush nib on a Sketch is a little tricky for beginning stampers to use for coloring in their tiny stamps. Most A Muse people use the Copic Original, which has some unique coloring techniques compared to the other marker types.

Tips for coloring tiny areas with a Copic Original:
1. If the paper isn't soaked all the way through it's OK. On tiny areas one little stroke is enough for a smooth color. If you try to soak the paper like you do on larger areas it will bleed and feather, so it's OK to not soak.

2. Try not to go back over the area a second time. One stroke is all you get- any more and you risk bleeding.

3. Plan your blends in advance. Remember, you get one stroke, so you can't go light-dark-light on tiny areas without bleeding. See the tips for blending later in this post.

4. Work slowly but cleanly. You can erase mistakes using your colorless blender, but it's harder to get it perfect on tiny images.

5. Don't scrub over the lines. Although you're not soaking the paper as much, the fine point on a Copic marker is firm and if you press hard it has the potential to pick up your ink more than the soft brush on a Sketch or Ciao.

6. Color in circles keeping all your edges wet. You can get streaks in larger areas if you don't keep your paper damp, so be aware.

7. Practice makes perfect. You might not get it right the first time, but keep trying. Also, when you find a technique that works, WRITE IT DOWN and add it to your example book.

Basic Coloring of small areas
For my first example I colored this little mermaid. She's stamped with the new A Muse Dye ink pad, though I stamped it twice so I could get a nice soft gray value.

I colored the base color of E00 for skin and BG10 for her tail then let it dry completely. This allows me to add a second color without running as much of a risk for bleeding. Then I carefully came in and added one tiny stripe of darker colors for shadows. Last I added a few dots on her scales with the darker BG45.

With this technique notice how all my color edges are crisp with no blends. This is usually easiest on small areas. Also, I didn't scan it in, but the color on her arms didn't make it all the way through to the backside, and that's OK because it looks fine on the front and I'm not blending in any other colors.

Blending Techniques on small areas
For long, narrow areas that you really only have one stroke on, your best bet will be either using the Tip to Tip blending technique or the Palette Blending technique. Both of these take practice. You'll have to do a bit of trial and error until you figure out just the right amount of color that you've picked up on the tip of your marker. These techniques work better when you have a light colored marker and you add dark to the tip.

For this image I used the A Muse Birdhouse stamp. I colored in a streaky manner the main house area, then added some E49 to the tip of my fine end of the E55. Then I streaked in the darker color to accent the wood grain.

If you want something to fade to white, use the colorless blender and pick up your color onto it. Remember to clean the tip after adding second colors- it won't ruin the tip but the next time you color it may have a tiny color residue that ruins your creation.

Why didn't I just add the E49 directly to the picture? E49 is way too dark for E55, and it's in a different blending group. By adding it to the tip of the E55 it mixes better with the E55, so it lightens up and it looks good with the lighter brown. It's easier to get a softer feel with the grains fading out without having to blend them out. Notice on the narrow strips for teh birdhouse I added E49 to the tip of the E55 and put one stroke down. Even on the narrow areas it looks like a smooth blend though it's so tiny.

Stamp inks
Also, you may have noticed that I'm using a different ink than usual- A Muse has a new dye stamp pad that works GREAT with Copic markers. I've been testing and using it and I am very pleased. Sometime in December I'm going to run another survey of favorite Paper and Ink combos for stamping, so if you run across a new winner, keep it in mind and save it for the contest.

Picking Between Markers, part 2 - Copic

Oh I'm going to have so much fun papercrafting today! Usually I come up to Seattle each spring for the SakuraCon Anime Convention and teach Copic workshops, but this year I was too busy so everyone else went instead. I love Seattle and I really missed all my Anime friends, but I'm getting to play with stampers, so it all works out.

The first marker type I'd like to explain is the original Copic Marker.

For those of you who want a firm, fine point while coloring, the ability to airbrush, or don't want to refill right away then the Original Copic Marker is for you.

Original Copic Markers were the first style created by Japan over 25 years ago. They are most popular for Architects, product designers, calligraphers, Quilters, and for papercrafting. These durable markers have not changed since they first came out many years ago. Some artists have kept the same marker for over 20 years!

These markers feature a square body design, come in 216 colors, and have the option of 9 different tips. If you don't like the standard fine or broad tips then swap them out for calligraphy tips, a brush tip, super fine tip, round nib, or any of the other custom nibs.

What does all this mean? The original Copic Marker is the most customizable. You can get an empty marker and mix your own inks to get exactly the color you want, as well as the tips you need.

I use these when I have a larger area that I want to color smoothly, and I also need to fill in fine details. One feature people like is that when you take a cap off it can stick on the other side, (you can't do this with a sketch, but you can with a Ciao) and the color number is printed on the cap (not Ciao). The Fine nib is also much easier to write with than the Super Brush tip found on Sketch or Ciao markers. So if you think you'll be doing a lot of journaling with the markers instead of inking pens, then the original Copic marker is for you.

Image credits- Stamp: Party Lanterns by AMuse Ink : Memento Tuxedo Black Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Markers : B41, Y11, G12, V12, BV31