Copic Storage

As most of you know, I got a bunch Copic markers for Christmas and my birthday this year.(Thanks Mom!) I immediately set my DH the task of making me a box to store them in and he finished it today. Yay!

Don't worry, this first picture is not what he made. This was my temporary solution. I took a gift box from Michaels and wrapping paper tubes, cut into segments, to create little compartments.

I really like having my markers sorted into color families. I had them all jumbled together at first and it drove me crazy. I thought I would show this so you could see the dramatic difference compared to my new storage.

Here is the box my husband made for me. I love it!!! There are 16 compartments, measuring 1.75 inches square. Each section will hold 9 markers (sketch) comfortably. So the total storage, if full, would be 144 sketch markers. Right now it is holding all 52 of my markers and several of my glitter and gel pens. Looks like I need more markers!

Another feature I wanted was a slide out cover for when I transport my markers. I go over to my sister's house a lot so we can stamp together and I want to be able to bring my Copics along. The cover slides in on groves that my DH made.

The other thing that I wanted was a handle to carry my case. We found this one at the local Ace Hardware store. It will lock into an upright position or lay flat.

Here is a look at what my stamping space looked like earlier today, before I got my new Copic storage. As you can see, I need to do more organizing. I don't like all that clutter and this is after I straightened up a bit.

When I first made that little shelving unit, my Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive fit on the middle shelf. Since then, they started making the bottles bigger and it doesn't fit anymore. All my ink pad slots are filled and I have more stacked on top.

I need to get to work building better shelving unit soon. I just placed an SU order for about 6 more ink pads and 21 refill bottles. Eek!

Here is what that little shelf looked like when I first made it last May. I only had a few ink pads at the time.


On the opposite side of my tiny little craft room is a table that is currently home to boxes of cards and my Gina K stamp sets. You can see I put my larger sets in the new storage cases, but I still need to label them. I am going to put some shelves above this table and arrange all my stamp sets on those. I need to get this table cleaned up so there is a space for my mom and sister when they come to visit.

I am making a serious effort to get organized and will show you pictures if when I get it done.

Thanks for looking. Have a happy Sunday!

A Love Grove

Happy Friday! Here is a card I made yesterday for the Ways to Use it challenge at Split Coast Stampers. The challenge was to use alcohol in your project. I used Copic markers to color this image from Unity Stamp Co, called So & So Loves.

For the lighter pink layer, I used Adirondack alcohol ink mixed with Adirondack pearl mix ink and then sponged it. I used nestabilities for to cut the ovals and scalloped rectangle.

If you are wanting to get started with Copic markers, you might want to check out Gina's blog today. She is giving away a whole set of Copic Ciao markers to one lucky winner. She also is starting up a new Copic club soon and will be announcing the details of that next week.

I am so excited that she is including a Sketch marker club, in addition to the Ciao club. This is a great way to get started with Copics. You can get an entire set, but spread it out over several months to make it more economical.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you have a great weekend!

Songbird

Good morning! It's almost the weekend. Yay! I decided to play along with the Card Positioning Systems sketch challenge. They are celebrating their anniversary and have lined up a great group of sponsors, including Gina K Designs.

For my card, I used Asela Hopkins' new set, Warm and Fuzzy. I love this little bird.

I sponged the background and used stamps from Tropical Friends and Botanical Dreams, and stamped the image. Then I stamped the image a second time on a small piece of Gina K Pure Luxury cardstock and colored it with Copic markers. I cut that bird out and then popped it up with dimensionals on the original image.

The yellow layer was sponged with So Saffron and Summer Sun and dry embossed with my Perfectly Paisley Cuttlebug folder.

Thanks for looking. Have a happy Thursday!

Siberian Iris

Hello! Today's card is for a sketch challenge that I participated in at Our Creative Corner. I used a Flourishes set called Siberian Iris.

The iris is colored with Copic markers on Gina K Pure Luxury cardstock and then cut out. The background is sponged with So Saffron and embossed with my Cuttlebug using the Birds and Vine CB folder.

I used nestabilities for sentiment. The is a Prima flower that I colored with a Copic marker. I also used the Martha Stewart branch punch and EK Success flourish punch.

The Almost Amethyst layer was stamped with the larger swirl stamp in the set using Almost Amethyst ink.

Thank you for visiting. I hope you have a great day!

Triangle Favor Box Tutorial

These are some little favor boxes I shared at the Gina K release party the other day. I was inspired by a little box of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory candy that I received for Christmas. It was so cute, I just had to recreate it. I am finally getting around to showing how I made them.

Here is the one I am making for the tutorial. I didn't do the punched border on the ends of the box for the tutorial. If you want to add a punched border, just add another 1/2 inch to either end to account for the loss of cardstock and maintain the proportions. You can click on any of the images below for a larger view.

Step 1
Start with a piece of cardstock cut to 5 by 6 1/4 inches. Then on the long side, make score lines at 1 1/2 inches, 3 inches and 4 1/5 inches. The narrow 1/2 inch strip on the end is just the fold over flap that you will use to adhere the ends together.

Step 2
Turn your cardstock 90 degrees and score at 1 1/4 and 5 inches. If using a Scor-Pal, it doesn't have a score mark at 1 1/4, so just score at 5 inches, then flip your cardstock around and score at 5 inches on the other end.

Step 3
Now, on the score lines you just made in the last step, you need to make a pencil mark at 1/2 inch and 1 inch as a guide for the circle punch in Step 5. Do this on both score lines.

Step 4
Fold your cardstock into zigzag shape so you can do your circle punching.

Step 5
Use a circle punch (I used 1 3/8 here, but a similar size should be fine) and line the edge up to the pencil mark and punch though the top layer. Turn it around and do the other side (this side will be double thickness).

Step 6
Now use your top layer as a guide to punch through additional layers.

Step 7
On the narrow 1/2 flap fold, I used my scissors to trim up the ends for a cleaner look.

Step 8
Here is what it looks like before you adhere the ends together.

Step 9
Now, re-fold in the same direction and adhere the ends.


Step 10
Decorate and embellish. Then use ribbon, twine or twist ties to close one end. Add candy, gum, trinkets, lip gloss or whatever suits your fancy, and then close the other end.


Supplies list

Boy/Girl samples - Stamps: Tag Lines (Gina K), Paper: Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up), Ink: Basic Black, Tools: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Lace Punch (Martha Stewar), ribbon (LSS), 1 3/8 inch circle punch.

Valentine sample - Stamps: Tag Lines, Spring Blooms, Christmas Blessings (Gina K), Paper: Pure Luxury White (Gina K), Real Red, Basic Black (Stampin' Up), Tools: Lace punch (Martha Stewart), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon (LSS), Copic markers, 1 3/8 inch circle punch.

I hope those instructions are clear. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful day!

I made it to CHA... well, sort of.

Angela posted some pictures of the Unity booth at CHA on this post. There is a photo of Brooke hanging projects in the Unity booth, and if you look very closely you can see my humble little card in the background.

In Other News...

Did you know that Jessica has a sketch challenge going on at Paper Craft Planet? Gina K is this week's sponsor and one random winner will be chosen to receive a stamp set.

Gina is also sponsoring a sketch challenge at Card Positioning Systems this week and you can win a Gina K set called Framed Friends. See this post for details.

And while you are at it, there is still a little time left to enter Kurtis' contest to win a pair of Cutterbee scissors. His contest ends soon, so hurry over. While you are there, be sure to check out his post about stamp storage.

Best Fishes

Happy Monday! Here is another card I shared at the Gina K release party last week, but hadn't shown on my blog. I used the new Best Fishes set and the new digi paper, Sweet as Sugar.

I stamped the seahorse on the lighter yellow digi paper and the fish on the red, then cut them out. I added just a bit of shading on the seahorse with my Copic markers and used my aqua painter and a little bleach to add highlights to the fish scales.

The starfish and seaweed were stamped on Gina K Pure Luxury card stock, colored with Copics and cut out. The background was sponge. Some layers were cut with my Labels One nestabilities and circle nestabilities. Finally, I used my Stardust Glitter pen to add some shimmer to the images.

Thanks for coming by today. I'll be back tomorrow with a tutorial on those little candy holders I showed during the release party. Have a great day!

Inspired Tulip

This card is for the inspiration challenge at SCS this week. I used this planner for inspiration. This stamp set from Flourishes, called Thank You is one I ordered last week and just came in the mail yesterday.

To make the background I placed my card stock on a grid paper and used a piece of copy paper as a mask, lining it up with the grid. Then I sponged River Rock (retired SU ink) along the edge of the mask and then moved it over to do another line.

The flower was coloring with Copic makers

The self adhesive pearls were colored with Copic markers and the designer paper is from K & Company. I got the EK Flourish punch from Gina K.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Warm and Fuzzy

Hello and happy Friday! I made this card using Asela Hopkin's newest stamp set, Warm and Fuzzy. I shared this at the release party last night, but hadn't posted it here yet.

I colored the image with Copic markers and scored around it. I used my square scallop nestabilities die to cut the black layer. The blue layer is a Stampin' Up in color called Baja Breeze.

I posted a challenge in the Gina K forums last night and would love to have you play along. The challenge is to make the card/project with the theme of "Something Sweet." You have until Tuesday at noon central to be entered to win the stamp set of your choice from Gina K. You don't have to have Gina K stamps to play, so I hope you'll join in on the fun! Click here for all the details.

Jessica and Erika have also posted release party challenge which you can find here and here. The winners of each of those challenges will also win the stamp set of their choice. And Joanne has a fun challenge going on that there is still time to get in on that one, too!

Have a fun weekend and happy stamping!

Gina K Day 3 - Tag, You're Sweet!

Sweetest Blessings

Today I am previewing two new Gina K Designs sets in tins and a brand new product to Gina K, Digital Paper! This first card was created using a stamp set called Sweetest Blessings.

I also used Gina's new digital paper, Sweet as Sugar, on my card. You are going to love this digital paper pack and it will coordinate beautifully with the stamps from Sweetest Blessings. I also used a design from this pack on my card yesterday. Scroll down to yesterday's post for another peek.

The digital paper has 7 different designs and will retail for $3.95, but Gina is giving it away FREE to anyone that places an order Thursday night through Sunday!

To create the background panel in this card, I used a piece of the new digital paper and went over the cupcakes with a Versa Mark pen. Then I heat embossed them with clear embossing powder. Next I just sponged on some Regal Rose ink. The embossing allowed the cupcakes on the digital paper to remain ink free.

Tag Lines

This card features a stamp from the new "Free With Three" set called, Tag Lines. This is a sentiment set and every image in this set will fit into one of the nestabilities tags dies! Most of them also fit the word window punch from Stampin' Up.

In addition to Tag Lines, I also used Tropical Flowers and Tree Silhouettes. The background is sponged. Then I just stamped the trees with Going Gray ink and the foliage with Basic Black.

The tag treatment is very similar to one of the nestabilities tag dies. I don't have any of those, so I had to improvise. You can scroll down for a tutorial on how I did this tag, plus a few others, with some common punches.

But first, be sure to check out what the rest of the team has done with these sets and paper...

Gina
Joanne
Jessica
Kurtis
Erika
Cindy
Melanie
Cammie
Donna
Emily
Asela

The release party is tonight in the Gina K forums at SCS, from 7 - 10 pm, central. There will be more previews, full reveals of all the new sets, contests questions and challenges! I will be hosting one of the challenges, and I can promise it will be sweeeeet! I hope you can play along.

And here is how I did the tag for my card...

First I stamped my sentiment on a narrow strip of cardstock. I usually have scraps that will work for this. Then I used my Marvy Mega square scallop punch to punch one end of the tag. It is important to do your best to get it lined up diagonally.

Then just turn it around and do the other end.

Then I used my Marvy Giga punch to make another layer. I used a slightly wider strip of card stock.

You can make another tag shape using the Friskars Threading Water punch. Again I started with a narrow strip of cardstock and then placed it in the punch as shown.

After punching I was left with this. The edges were just a bit sharp.

So I used my 1/4 inch hole punch to round those out a bit.

And here is what it looked like when I was done. You can place brads, twine or narrow ribbon in the holes.

This last one makes a ribbon slider tag shape. I cut the strip of paper to just slightly narrower than 3/4 inch, then punched first one end, then the other with the Stampin' Up slot punch.

Next, I placed one end only into the 3/4 inch circle punch from EK Success and punched. It is important to get the strip of cardstock, in the previous step, a little narrower than 3/4 or it won't fit in the circle punch.

And here it is with both sides punched and ribbon added.


Thanks for stopping by. I hope your day is wonderful!!!

Gina K Day 2 - Best Fishes

Today's preview is a brand new Gina K Designs set, called Best Fishes. It will be available for purchase Thursday evening, after the release party in the Gina K forums. Not only are the images in this set so cute, they are also great for creating a little underwater scene.

For more samples using Best Fishes and Asela Hopkin's new set, be sure to visit the rest of the design team.

Gina
Joanne
Jessica
Kurtis
Erika
Cindy
Melanie
Cammie
Donna
Emily
Asela
And Mary Anderson, our In the Spotlight designer for January!

Here is a step by step tutorial of how I made this card...


First I stamped the mirror from Perfectly Polished (available from Gina K Designs on Thursday).
Next I created a mask by punching a circle in a piece of scrap paper. I used re-positionable tape to hold it in place, masking all but the reflective portion of the mirror.

I stamped the fish from Best Fishes onto smooth piece of scrap rubber to pick up the reverse image, and then stamped that onto the mirror. Then I removed the mask.

I don't have a reverse image stamp, so had to improvise. If you don't have one, you can use a piece of rubber like I did (I saved a large scrap when cutting a stamp set a few months ago), but you could also use acetate.

Next I added some additional images to create a scene. The lipstick is from Perfectly Polished.

Colored the images with Copic markers.

Tore a piece of copy paper to form a mask to create a sea bottom. I used re-positionable tape again to hold it in place.

Next I used Bashful Blue and Ballet Blue ink to sponge in the sea water background.

Used another mask to sponge in the sea bottom, using So Saffron and just a bit of Creamy Caramel.
After I removed the mask, I took a fine tipped black marker and added a few speckles and lines to help "ground" the seaweed and mirror. I also used a gray Copic marker to add some subtle shadows.


And here is a close up of the finished project. Thanks for stopping by. I will be back tomorrow with the final day of previews showcasing two more new Gina K sets, plus a special "new" product. Hmm, I wonder what it could be...

Have a great day!