Blog Winner and Gift Tag

Happy Wednesday! I am thrilled to announce the lucky winner from my blog giveaway- Dani Chapman!

Dani Chapman said...

I think this book will be a must for anyone who uses Copics! I love coloring books but this one will be perfect for me so I can get better and more confident using my Copics!

Congrats Dani and I hope that this book will give you some useful tips for any of your future projects with Copics. If you would also like to pick up a copy of this book, you can find Intro to Coloring with Copic Markers here.

Quick Spring Card Project
And, since you are looking around my blog today, I figured I'd share a quick gift tag/card I made from the March Hero Arts Monthly Kit. If you haven't ordered one of these awesome kits yet, don't worry, there are still a few in-stock. Just pop over to Hero Arts to pick it up.  It has been a lot of fun to work with them in adapting my Coloring Flowers with Copic Markers book into stamps and projects!

This little gift tag is made with the cluster of flowers from the Marianne's flowers add on set, stamped with Memento New Sprout colored ink. I colored it using only 6 Sketch markers: G20, Y00, Y21, BG000, R81, and colorless blender. I used the techniques shown in the second project of the Coloring Flowers with Copic book, except instead of having 3 shades of a color, I used only 2, and on the leaves, my lighter green was actually colorless blender, and my darker green was simply allowing the G20 to dry before adding a second layer to get the color just a tiny bit darker. 

I'm thrilled with the final color scheme, and how it matched the card base from the kit perfectly. I chose a clean, simple white ribbon bow and was trying to figure out how to make it just a little bolder. After digging for a bit, I found a perfect little pop of yellow bling in my "drawer-o-stuff" to add to the bow. I held the bow and bling in place with a dab of the X-press it Gel Glue. 

Have fun coloring!

Intro to Coloring giveaway

New book for the Coloring Foundation Series!
I was cleaning off my desk and I noticed that I missed a blog post about one of my new books, Intro to Coloring With Copic Markers.

This new Coloring Foundations book is a must have for anyone who wants the scoop on how to use Copic markers! I wrote this book with clear, step-by-step tutorials to guide you through everything from smooth coloring to basic blends. From creating patterns, to properly adding highlights and shadows in a still-life. Images are clean and easy to follow along with, incorporating a good balance of simple to complex techniques.

All the books in the Coloring Foundations series are full color and include text in both English and Spanish. Tutorial images and blank color charts are in the back of each book, ready to be photocopied onto good marker paper.

You can purchase a copy of Intro to Coloring With Copic Markers from the Copic website, or
you can also choose to get an autographed copy of Intro to Coloring with Copic Markers.

Better yet, why don't you leave a comment here on my bog for a chance to win your very own autographed copy?! I'll draw a winner on Wednesday next week. (Limited to residents of US and Canada only, sorry!)

I had a lot of fun writing this book, and I tried to fill it with as many useful things as I could. I hope you find it helpful in your creative process. Good luck winning a copy!

Hero Arts Blog Hop

You know what I like to do? I like to draw and color! I also like to make neat things for my family and friends. So, I partnered up with Hero Arts to work on their March Hero Kits. Then all my online friends can also share the fun of coloring the things I enjoy drawing. These kits are packed with all the supplies you need to make a bunch of beautiful cards to share with the people you love. You add the color, and the kit comes with the rest:

March My Monthly Hero Kit.

The kit contains: 12 coloring cards on XPressIt paper, coordinating stamps and dies, an Intense Black ink cube (alcohol marker-friendly), extra XPressIt paper, assorted notecards, and a package of gems.

There are 3 optional add-on items -

DC184 Ribbon Messages Stamp & Cut: https://heroarts.com/shop-sidebar/dc184-ribbon-messages-stamp-cut/

CL964 Marianne's Flowers: https://heroarts.com/shop-sidebar/cl964-mariannes-flowers/

PS755 Coloring Foundation Book - Flowers: https://heroarts.com/shop-sidebar/ps755-coloring-f…ion-book-flowers/

You can see more at the Hero Arts blog post: https://heroarts.com/my-monthly-hero-is-here-5/

Notice that you can order my Coloring Flowers with Copic book? As an added value I autographed all the books that Hero Arts is selling (I almost got a blister on my drawing finger from signing so many books!). This is a great chance to pick up the coloring flowers how-to book for any of your friends that also love working with Copic Markers.

Flowers are popping up in my yard, and they are popping up on blogs as well.  Join our talented designers for this awesome coloring flowers blog hop and see all the neat projects made with the March Monthly Hero Kit: 

Sharon Harnist

Cindy Lawrence

Lori Craig

Debbie Olson

Michelle Houghton

Mariana Grigsby

Libby Hickson

The Hero Arts Blog 

The kit is available for a limited time only - once it's gone, it's gone, so order soon.

Here are some of the fun cards I made using the stamps, dies, stamp pad, flowers coloring cards, notecards & gems. All you need to add are the markers and your own creativity!

Hero Arts Sneak Peek

March is here and I'm so excited! Why am I so excited? Because I have been working with Hero Arts to design a fabulous March My Monthly Hero Kit.This kit was based on my Coloring Flowers with Copic Markers book, and now you can have a pile of flowers to color in, using the techniques you learn from the book! 

Jump over to The Hero Arts Blog and leave a comment for a chance to win a couple of prize packs!  We will have two prizes during the hop: a kit ($29.99 value), and also a prize package from Marianne consisting of a 3 pack of Sketch markers, a Flowers Line art pack, and 3 Kirarina 2win scented markers. Over $40 retail value!

Prizes will be announced on Monday, when the full kits are announced. Order your kits on Monday, March 7th.  Be sure to check back then, as you can also follow along with our inspiring designer blog hop. 

Then, once you see the great things you can make from these fun stamps and kits, order your kit quickly! Because the kit is available for a limited time only - once it's gone, it's gone.

Relax with a Coloring Party- giveaway

Coloring Is Relaxing
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of teaching a Tracing Memories/Coloring Photo Line Art class at my local library. What made this class different is that I actually got my Mom to attend.

A little backstory- My Mom has an art degree. She was an amazing oil painter, both portraits and landscapes, but she gave it up when I was very little because she had a house full of 6 kids and no room for painting. So, she shifted to self publishing quilting books as part of her creative outlet. She hasn't drawn or painted much in the intervening years. She always told me growing up, "Never get an art degree, you'll never make any money with it." I think that my family expected me to be a doctor or a lawyer or something like that (Not a chance!). Mom didn't really like my simplified, cartoony drawing style, and she just couldn't relate as well to my simplified, over-blended Copic illustrations.

Flash forward- Mom comes to my workshop where we are coloring a photo from a local park. It was a much more painterly, realistic style and it resonated with her. She got into it. She connected with a sweet family who took my class. And then, mom started her own relaxing coloring group at the local library. Mom would bring her markers, until the others built up their own collections. They would meet once a week to color whatever images struck their fancy: Mandalas, photos, manga...anything they found that they liked. They gabbed about life and family and whatever. It became the highlight of their week.

They had fun coloring. It brought peace and stress reduction to their life.

Look around you. Are you happier when coloring? Are you in the zone? Do you feel the peace that comes when you tone out the world around you and color what you love?

Have you seen all the articles in the news recently about how popular coloring is, and how good it is for your health? Coloring is Awesome!

I really want to hear your coloring story. 
What motivates you to color? Is it to cope with the loss of a loved one? Is it because you can squeeze it in on long road trips? Is it because you remember coloring with your grandma when you were little?

Please send me an email with YOUR coloring story and maybe a couple photos. I will choose some stories here and there and share them with others for inspiration (Don't worry, I'll let you know if your story is chosen).

(This photo is from a class I taught at a local assisted living facility a couple years ago.)


Host a coloring party
If you've felt that relaxation that comes from coloring, then I challenge you with this- have you gone out of your way to spread that happiness with others? Have you invited someone over to color with you? Someone who has never tried coloring before?

This Summer, take a moment and color with someone who needs a break. It could be a stressed out co-worker, a friend in an assisted living center, a child or an aging parent. Just block out some time and color!

Giveaway
Please leave a comment on this post, tell us who you love coloring with or who you want to color with, for a chance to win a copy of my Coloring Flowers book + a selection of flowers line art printed on our specialty marker paper.

 My goal is to encourage people to relax, and more than that, help someone else relax. One thing this busy world needs more of is simple relaxation. Go back to your happy coloring place and bring someone with you.

I will choose a winner on Friday.

Thanks and have a colorful week!!

Congrats to the book winners!!

I'm back from my recent trip and I've had a chance to randomly select the winners for a giveaway of my new book. Thank you so much to everyone who left a comment! It gave me lots of ideas for future topics, and confirmed some ideas that I already wanted to explore.

So, without further ado, the randomly selected winners are:

#4- Stampin Melissa

#26- Erin Ellis

#49- Ginny B

I know you will each love the book! Have a wonderful weekend everyone, and don't forget to color something fun!

Coloring Flowers with Copic Markers Book - Giveaway

It's here! It finally arrived!!

I've been waiting weeks and weeks for the main shipment of my new book, Coloring Flowers with Copic Markers.

I'm so excited because this book is not just a book, it's part of a whole series of awesome information. Who is this book written for?

• If you like flowers -flowers of all kinds- and you're a paper crafter, or an artist, or an illustrator, or just someone who likes to color, then this book is for you!

• If you're a beginner, this book is for you!

• If you're skilled and looking for tips to make your work look more professional, with depth and interesting coloration, then this book is for you!

• Hablamos Español? ¡Esta libro es para tí! Es todos en Español y English.
(and that right there is the extent of the Spanish I remember from High School, luckily I'm not the one who translated the books!)

For only $9.95, you can order a copy of the book by clicking here. Or, for $2 more, you can order an autographed copy.

Coloring Foundations Series
What's even better is that if you are a beginner and you ONLY care about flowers, then you don't need any other books. That's the great part of this new series. Each of these new books stands alone. So, the next book in the series that is going through final proofing now is Coloring Faces and Hair with Copic Markers. And after that, I'm finishing writing the Intro to Coloring with Copic Markers book, which is more generic. This week I'm also coloring the artwork for the 4th book, Coloring Cats and Dogs with Copic Markers, and next I'm drawing pictures for...

Do you get the picture? This series is going to be a lot of books that are all about exactly what YOU want to learn how to color! All in easy to follow along tutorials, with multiple color variations for each image.

Blank Art is in the back
In each book, there are blank outlines for each tutorial that you can photocopy to color along with the beautiful step-by-step photographs.

People ask me all the time what is my favorite paper to color on. I actually use our Copic Sketchbook paper, a super-smooth, medium weight paper that is very crisp and great for drawing illustrations. But, pulling a page out of your sketchbook isn't feasible. So, we are now selling the sketchbook paper as our new Art Pack- Paper for Markers. These packs of letter-sized paper are meant to run through a photocopier. In fact, this is the paper I use for just about any workshop I teach.  All those blank images in the back of the book will look great on this paper, because this is the paper I colored all the original artwork on for the books!

Note: If you are outside the US and Canada and are interested in purchasing the book or paper, please email us- orders@copicmarker.com  Wholesale inquiries are also welcome.

Download even more art
Now, you've bought the book, you got the special paper that I use, and you've colored some of the tutorials. You're pumped, you're excited, you are now an amazing Flower-coloring-machine!

But what else can you color? I've got you covered there as well.

Brand new to the Copic website, we are selling 8.5" x 11" downloadable line art to match the new books. For only $0.99 a download! And, the flowers incorporated in the illustrations are the same kinds of flowers taught in the book. I drew those pictures just for you, so you can have even more great things to color.

Right now there really aren't many images uploaded...yet.

Every couple weeks we will be uploading new artwork, and not just flowers. See the cool green bug on the paper pack? I posted a tutorial last Fall about that bug. Well, now you can download the outline and color in that exact bug! Maybe you really like that butterfly I colored earlier here on my blog, well that is uploaded to the website as well. Isn't that cool!?!? I am so happy I can finally share my favorite blog illustrations so you can also color along! And, anyone around the world can download these images, no problem.


Win a Free Autographed Book and Paper pack
Whew! That's a lot of information in one post, but I am so excited! In fact, I'm so excited, I want to give away some of these books and share the awesomeness with you.

• If you want to win your own, autographed version of the Flowers book and a pack of paper, please leave a comment on this blog post. Include your email so we can get in touch with you. Tell me what topics you would love to see written into future books or made into downloadable line art (besides Flowers, Faces & Hair, Cats & Dogs, since I'm already working on those).

Next Friday, when I am back in town, I will choose 3 lucky winners.

Easy as that. Good luck, and thanks in advance for letting me know what you want to see a book about!

Blog Winner!

It was so nice to read all the comments welcoming Jennifer!  Here is the winner randomly chosen on Sunday:

Maria said...

Huge congrats to Jennifer! She is a fabulous artist! My favorite copic colors are any of the reds and blues B00, BG15, R24, R29...etc!:-)And, thanks for the chance to win!:-)

Congrats Maria!! And, thank you all again for participating. 

Welcome Jennifer Dove!

Welcome Jennifer dove to the Copic Fine Art team!!

The Copic Regional Fine Art team is a little different than our Papercrafting team. The Fine Art Teaching Team is made up of a bunch of super-talented professional artists and instructors who travel across the country demoing and teaching at fine art stores and art schools. 

I bumped into Jennifer again a few months ago, (it had been years since I'd last seen her.) We had so much fun coloring cactus! After chatting with her, I was so happy when she agreed to accept the Fine Art team invitation. 

Jennifer has been using Copics since 2010 and her passion and enthusiasm are apparent to everyone she works with.  As an artist by nature, Jennifer is currently busy teaching Copic Boot Camp retreats, working on her own DoveArt Designs stamp line, and designing in mixed media, jewelry making, card making and altered arts.  She also has a number of video classes available with Annie’s Publishing.  She is very excited to be adding this new teaching venture into her line-up.  

We know that Jennifer will ROCK THE SOCKS OFF of those art schools and stores and we are so thrilled to be able to welcome her to the Copic teaching family.  

To see more of Jennifer’s work, check out her blog at just4funcrafts.blogspot.com
___________________________________________________________

In celebration of Jennifer’s joining us, we want to give YOU a chance to celebrate too.  Our current Papercrafting Teacher Team has joined up for a welcome hop and we are EACH giving away a Copic T-Shirt to one lucky winner. 

To be entered here on my blog, please leave a comment telling me what your favorite Copic color is... just for fun!  Comments will be closed at midnight on Sunday and I'll post the winner here on Monday. 

Visit the blogs below for another chance to win & make sure to stop by Jennifer’s Blog and give her a big welcome! 

Lori Craig
Jennifer Dove
Michelle Houghton
Cindy Lawrence
Debbie Olson
Colleen Schaan
Sherrie Siemens
Marianne Walker -- That's me!

Welcome Michelle!

The Copic Papercrafting Instructor and Design Teams are so excited to add a new instructor to our fabulous team… Michelle Houghton!

Michelle has done a number of special events and demos for us over the years and we are thrilled to finally have her on our teaching team.  Michelle has a BS in Fine Arts and an MA in Teaching with years of experience teaching high school art, live workshops, and online crafting classes. 

Michelle likes to work with a variety of mediums and styles, often experimenting and looking for unique and interesting ways to use them.    We look forward to working with her and can’t wait to see her in action!

And of course we can’t have a celebration without gifts… so we are giving away some great Copic prizes! 

Join us in welcoming Michelle by visiting each of the blogs listed below for a chance to win.  Don’t forget to leave some love at each blog because EACH TEAM MEMBER will be giving away a Copic T-Shirt and a 7-piece Doodle Kit to one lucky winner. 

Commenting will close at midnight on Sunday, July 6^th and winners announced on individual blogs on Monday, July 7^th (Note: Prizes are limited to the US and Canada).

Copic Design and Instructor team blogs:

Michele Boyer  http://papercuts.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

Lori Craig http://loricraig.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

Sharon Harnist http://paperfections.typepad.com/

Michelle Houghton  http://www.scrapweaver.com/

Cindy Lawrence http://onehappystamper.typepad.com/

Debbie Olson  http://debbiedesigns.typepad.com/muse_and_amuse/

Colleen Schaan  http://www.distinctivetouches.com/

Sherrie Siemens  http://sherrie-cardcreme.blogspot.com/

Meanwhile, if you are heading to Anime Expo this weekend, be sure to visit me in the Copic room, #507. The room will be jam-packed with fabulous things to do, prizes to win, and awesome new workshops. I can't wait to see you there!

Spooktacular Giveaway!

Head on over to the Copic Blog to be entered in our Spooktacular Giveaway. Each day, one winner will be chosen to win 3 anniversary markers. At the end of the month, one lucky winner will win a set of 36 markers!  You can enter each day for more chances to win.

To enter, and to find out complete rules and information, you need to visit the Copic blog.

Good luck! Contest runs through the end of October.

Hero Arts and Copic Blog Giveaway

This week, if you wander over to the Hero Arts blog you will find a simple and fun airbrushing video I made for Halloween using the new Hero Arts Fall 2013 stamps and stencils.

Leave a comment for a chance to win an autographed book, markers and refill inks, and a $50 gift certificate from Hero Arts!

Then, once you've commented on the Hero Arts site, go and leave a comment on the Copic Blog for ANOTHER chance to win!! 2 sites, two prize packs...twice the giveaway fun!!

Good Luck!!

Blog Hop Winner and Anime Expo

What a week! I taught classes this week on Tracing Memories, taught a teen drawing class for the City of Eugene Library, and got all of my prep done for heading off to Anime Expo in a few days. We have online classes opening up soon through Creative Ladder.com, as well as a new beading and apron class coming to Kansas City, August 17th (You can find out full class details and apply HERE on the Copic education page).

And...I was so thrilled at how excited everyone is over the new book that Colleen and I worked so hard on!!

Before I announce the blog hop winner, I wanted to tell people about Anime Expo coming up this
week.

Anime Expo, July 4-7, 2013
Los Angeles Convention Center

Stop by the Copic Booth, located in the back with Artist's Alley. Prices will be great, and you can get personal demos throughout the entire show. We will have 3 guest Manga artists from Japan, as well as Terryl Whitlatch from the Tales of Amalthea project.

We have a full schedule of hands-on workshops and panels on July 5 & 6th. (I'll post more class details tomorrow). Stop by to get all your favorite Copic supplies and meet some amazing artists!!


Blog Hop Winner!
But, before I go to L.A., I need to share the winner for the 4th Copic Coloring Guide book blog hop!

Random.org chose #95 out of 187 possibilities for a winner. Wow!

The lucky winner is:

Ellen, who said...

Your coloring is incredible! Can't wait to get my hands on the new Copic Coloring Book! Thanks for the chance!

Ellen, I sent you a note! Please get back to me and next week when I return from the convention, I will send out your very own copy of the book!!

Copic Coloring Guide Book 4 Blog Hop

Good morning and welcome to a very special blog hop!  Colleen and I have worked really hard to create another book! the Copic Coloring Guide, Level 4: Fine Details

This book is jam-packed with uber-cool techniques that help you take your coloring from good to great!  The 64-page book is the latest in the Coloring Guide series, offering information and educational material for crafters of all skill levels.

From light source to shading and shadows, to mixing mediums and tackling detailed images, this book shows how to take your coloring up one notch further… by focusing on the fine details.  I know that I was challenged coloring some of the tutorial images, but these simple to follow directions will make the process easy for you. I know you will love it!

You can print each tutorial on your own paper and work along with the book, using the included CD of images.

I have a really neat card included in the book. This is one of my all-time favorite images I have ever drawn for papercrafting. But, it can be tricky to color. Lucky for you, to color it I used a lot of techniques that are discussed in the book. Little things that will make your image jump! The color scheme on this card is so simple and vibrant...I love it! I like simple, bold designs.

Today, each contributing designer is hopping along to give you a peak at their favorite project from the book - and a chance to WIN your own autographed copy!

To help kick off the celebration of the new book... each designer on the hop is giving away an autographed copy of the book...signed not only by Colleen and myself, but by the individual designer too (I guess if you win my copy, it will only be signed by Colleen and myself).   

Please comment on this post for your chance to win a copy for yourself!  Commenting will be closed midnight on Sunday, June 30th.  Check each individual's blog to find out winners. Please Note: winners on my blog are limited to North America, sorry! Once you comment on my  post, wander over to these other fine blogs for more chances to win. Good luck and happy hopping!

Jane Allen  

Michele Boyer 

Lori Craig

Jennifer Dove

Sharon Harnist

Melanie Holtz 

Kathy Jones 

Cindy Lawrence 

Debbie Olson 

Colleen Schaan 

Can't wait for your copy?
Copic Coloring Guide Level 4: Fine Details is now available at many stamping and scrapbooking stores. Visit your local store today and ask about availability.  It is also sold through the Annie’s catalog, accessible online at Annie's.

Commenting is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Win an Airbrush!

Enter today on the Copic blog to win a FREE ABS-1 and 5 markers of your choice!!

Go to the blog and enter today! One entry per person (full contest details can be found on the entry form). Contest ends July 14th.

Good Luck!

100 Ciao giveaway!!

Have you ever used a Copic Ciao marker?

They are refillable and have the same great nibs as a Sketch marker, but cost a whole lot less. Ciao markers are an inexpensive way to start your color collection. If you haven't tried them yet, now's your chance!

Enter at the Copic Blog for your chance to win a free Ciao marker. We are giving away 100 markers now through the 22nd!

Good Luck!!

Bloghop Winner!

I went over to random.org and pulled my winning number for the New Year's Blog hop prize. The lucky winner from my blog is:

Cindi Flass, who said...

Great prize! Thanks for the chance to win.

 Cindy, thanks for hopping along with us, and I hope you continue to have a very lucky New Year!

Happy New Year Blog Hop!

Happy New Year from Copic!

Ooops! This was supposed to have auto posted yesterday but it disappeared. Sorry!! please enter today for your chance to win!

There are so many new things happening in 2013 at Copic that we just can't hold back our excitement.

• In less than two weeks we will be kicking off our new Color & Ink Workshop at CHA. There's still time to register, but space is limited, so sign up now on the Copic Website HERE. This class is all about HANDS ON and HAVING FUN!

• This year at CHA we will be expanding our fabulous line of X-Press it adhesives. Stop by our booth (#2553) to see our new glue, glue markers, and double-sided adhesive sheets, along with all of our other fabulous rolls of double-sided tape and foam tape.

• We will be showcasing a lot of new marker sets, including our new 3pc. Sketch blending group sets. These are a great way for beginners to start their collection, with markers that go together beautifully.

• We are also scheduling locations for our Standard and Intermediate Certification classes for 2013.  Make sure to sign up on the Copic websiteHERE to find out when one opens near you!

To celebrate all the excitement, the education team and designers are having a fun blog hop and giving away a fun prize pack. Each prize pack will include an assortment of 3 markers from one of our Limited Edition 25th Anniversary sets (fine nib on one side, super brush on the other end), a roll of X-Press It 1/4in. high-tack tape, and a roll of our exclusive 1/4in. foam tape.

For a chance to win, leave a comment on THIS post by Friday morning, January 4th.  Then hop over to each of the other wonderful Copic instructors and designers. Each blog will give away their own prize, so you have 8 chances to win!! Note: Due to shipping restrictions, contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.

Marianne Walker
Sherrie Siemens
Debbie Olson
Lori Craig
Sharon Harnist
Colleen Schaan
Cindy Lawrence
Michele Boyer

Good Luck and happy hopping!

Fall Coloring Contest

Looking for something fun to color? Want a chance to win some neat prizes?  Head on over to the Copic Blog for a chance to enter our Fall coloring contest.

Simply download the image, color it using Copic Markers, and follow the rules listed on the Copic blog. I can't wait to see how you color this cute image!

Winner and Events

Thank you all for participating in the blog hop this week. I finally got my copy of the Copic Coloring Guide Level 2: Nature. Even though Colleen and I worked so hard on it, and we knew every piece that went into it, it is still so amazing to see how beautifully the book came together!

From all the nice comments, the following lucky winner was chosen:

Leta said...

I would LOVE to win this book...thank you for the chance

March 5, 2012 8:14 PM

Leta, I know that you will love this book! Colleen and I are so happy to have been able to create a resouruce that will hopefully inspire thousands of people to be creative and build their coloring talent. Meanwhile, if you are in the Pittsburgh area, you can pick up your own copy of my new book on Monday...

Upcoming Events,

Monday, March 12th, I will be offering classes and demos and a fun open house at Art Tech Supplies in Greensburg, PA.

1 - 3pm, I will be offering techniques for cardmakers,

4-6pm, Art Techniques

7 to 9pm will be a drop-in open house/book signing event. This will be my first book signing for the new Copic Coloring Guide, so stop by for a wonderful time with the folks at Art Tech. I hope to see you there!