iCopic Color Challenge #15

Hi everyone!!

Today, we have a lovey dovey color combo for you! I can't wait to see what you all create for this one.

As always, to enter, follow these easy steps:
1. Become a follower of our blog, if you aren’t already.
2. Post your original creation with your entry and the link back to iCopic's Color Challenge on your blog. You can make ANY type of project that includes the use of Copics: greeting card, scrapbook page, altered art, 3D project, illustration, etc. Anything goes as long as Copics are used!
3. The colors need to be as close to the challenge’s color theme as possible.

The challenge will end on Sunday, February 6th (Noon EST). The winner will be chosen by the True Random Number Generator.

Here is the color combo:



And the winner for Challenge #14 is Mindy BaxterV (Card #5). Please email us (info@icopic.com) your shipping address, thank you!



And here is a gorgeous inspiration card made by Linda:


InLinkz is becoming a subscription service (and when you stop paying monthly, they will remove all the past links!! yikes!) and therefore we are looking into alternative linking widgets. For this week, please add a link to your project in the comments section below.

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Color Challenge Oliver ~

Hi marker friends!  It’s Alyssa here to share a little color challenge card with you today.  The iCopic color challenge for this week is a fun one – blue, teal and moss green!  Yummy masculine colors! 
One thing that helps when building a card is having your color scheme in mind – whether it’s a color challenge that inspires you or some beautiful patterned paper.  I chose to use some Basic Grey Oliver papers with The Greeting Farm’s Oliver stamp that you can find in the iCopic store here.

Oliver’s jeans aren’t messed up!  I added a little swipe of E33 to his knees to show that he likes to get a little dirty when he plays!  I wanted one of the dinosaurs to coordinate with the paper that was embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  I colored the one Oliver is holding with G82 (new in Ciao!) and G85.  Once it was colored, I dotted it with the colorless blender to give his *skin* some texture.  For the little Triceratops, I didn’t have a brick red color Copic.  I added some E18 (new in Ciao!) over the R39 to warm it up.  Here’s a close up

I hope this gives you that extra push to play along with the color challenge!  The prize this week is 4 Copic Ciao markers of your choice!!  Go to this post to find out all the details and get in on some fun.  Thanks for stopping by today! lyss

COPICS USED:
B91, B95, B97, BG15, BG23, BG49, C3, C5, C7, C9, E000, E00, E11, E18, E33, G82, G85, R20, R39, R59, W3, W5, W7, 0 Colorless Blender

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Be Mine, Valentine

Hi Copic Fans! It's Linda here to share a valentine card with you. For my card I chose Swiss Pixies Laying Nora by C.C. Designs. You can find Laying Nora and other C.C. Designs HERE at iCopic.com. My sentiment is from SP & Company's 'Artsy Heartsy' stamp set.

Here is how I cut the heart-shaped card base using a Spellbinder Nestabilities. This technique will work with other Nestabilities shapes. The key is to extend the die beyond the fold line in order to create hinges. The hinges hold the card base together.

After I cut my card base I cut a larger scalloped heart in the dotted purple paper to make the front of my card. Since I was using a brad on my flower I adhered a second scalloped heart to the front one to hide the brad prongs.

Copic markers I used:
E00, 11, 25, 29
Y11, 13, 15, 35
V12, 15, 17
R20

Recipe:
C.C. Designs 'Laying Nora'
Memento tuxedo black ink
SP & Company 'Artsy Heartsy'
Cryogen paper
Martha Stewart border punch
Papertrey Ink die
Nestabilities
Flowers, paper, brad from stash
Quickutz tag die
Stampin' Up cardstock

Thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to check out Color Challenge #14. When you have finished your creation link it to the blog for a chance to win a prize. You know you like prizes!! Have a great day! LindaC

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Rain or Shine Card

Hi everyone! Wanda Here! That means it must be Wednesday! Hope you are having a great week so far. I have a bright and cheery card for you and some tips and techniques. This is a classic example of coloring something shiny and using a light source for your shading. I hope you enjoy this tutorial today! This was such a fun card to color.

Here is a close up of the finished coloring of the umbrellas...You can see that my light source is coming from the right and hitting all the umbrellas on the top right side of each image. This is a great way to make your coloring eye appealing and realistic - by using your light source uniformly. Also, this extreme use of shading makes the items appear shiny and and like they are reflecting the light.

I used three colors for each umbrella, keeping in the same color family. Here you can see that I've left the white space on the yellow one and am getting ready to fill it in with a very light yellow.

I used ALLL those colors!

Here's a peek at the back of my image. You can see how much color there is on the paper...it's soaked. That is why the image is so dense and yummy. Keep coloring...don't be afraid to do too much.

If you look at this super close up, you can almost see exactly where I laid down each of my three colors for each umbrella. I started with my middle color, then put on the darkest color and then finished with the lightest color to blend it all together.

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Tuesday Tips and Tricks: Think Outside the Box

Hi everyone!! Are you ready for today's tip?

Today's tip is about thinking outside the box -the Copic color chart box that is!

As you are probably well aware, the Copic color chart is a Copic artist's best friend.

If you don't know what I am talking about, here is the scoop! You NEED this color chart. Print it on your Copic paper (whatever paper you usually use with your Copic coloring projects). Then fill in the chart using the markers you have.

This chart is really nice because it helps you see the the actual color of your markers on YOUR paper of choice. Also, the chart keeps the colors organized with color families so you can see which colors you have for blending.

For instance, a good blending family would have the same letters, and same first digit, like shown below:

Notice all the colors that are highlighted start with B9 . That means they are suited to blend well together. B91 is the lightest color in this section, whereas B99 is the darkest.

My tip today is to THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!  I want you to test out some blending using colors that aren't in the same blending family.

All Copic markers will blend together because they are all alcohol based inks. That doesn't mean all color combinations will look nice, but that does mean that you can experiment and come up with combos that you like.

See my example below:

For the boots (from the SP and Company Rain Boots stamp set), I used BG15 and BG34. Using colors from two different blending families created a two-toned, almost holographic type of look to the boots. You could even use two totally different colors, (maybe a yellow with a green?), to come up with a totally unique look.

Also, notice the stripes on the boots? I used a technique from a previous Tips and Tricks segment. Click here to go to that post.

I hope you enjoyed this segment. Please share if you have come up with some nice looking combinations. We would love to hear about them!

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iCopic Color Challenge #14

Hi everyone!!

This week, we have a cool blue combo for you all.

As always, to enter, follow these easy steps:
1. Become a follower of our blog, if you aren’t already.
2. Post your original creation with your entry and the link back to iCopic's Color Challenge on your blog. You can make ANY type of project that includes the use of Copics: greeting card, scrapbook page, altered art, 3D project, illustration, etc. Anything goes as long as Copics are used!
3. The colors need to be as close to the challenge’s color theme as possible.

The challenge will end on Sunday, January 30th (Noon EST). The winner will be chosen by the True Random Number Generator.

Here is this week's colors:




And the winner for Challenge #13 is Donna V (Card #7). Please email us (info@icopic.com) your shipping address so we can get the new 2011 Swatchbook to you.



Here is some awesome inspiration from the iCopic designers:

Wanda:

Linda:

Enter your project for the challenge here:

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So Very Naughty ~

Hi all!  Alyssa here!  I'm back today with a saucy little number from the new Greeting Farm rubber stamp set, Naughty or Nice.  This is the Naughty girl - such a little devil!  ;o)

I was focusing on her red outfit using R27, R29, R39 and the new to Ciao marker, RV69.  Normally, I wouldn't think to shade the R's with an RV, but it really lends itself to a deeper, richer shadow. 
Her hair is colored with E15, E31, E33, E37 and a touch of E49.  The E15 is a more coppery brown, and gives her hair a more natural gradient. 

To add a little sparkle to this naughty girl, I went over her pitchfork and shoes with a Black AtYou Spica pen.  Her horns have just a hint of sparkle on the lighter areas with a Red AtYou Spica pen.  Sparkle is just so hard to capture, but if you click on the detail picture, you can kind of see the glitter on her horns.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!  :o) lyss


COPICS USED:
C1, C3, C5, E000, E00, E11, E15, E31, E33, E37, E49, R20, R27, R29, R39, RV69, YG63

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Love Tag

Hi! It's Linda here, and I want to share a tag I created using the new SP & Company stamp set, 'Artsy Heartsy'. Here is the set.

I absolutely love the various textures of the hearts; I would have to say the 'hounds tooth' is my favorite. There also are five sentiments which make this a great set for creating valentines, gift tags, and decorative elements for scrapbook layouts. You can see SP & Company stamps HERE.

Here is my tag.

To make the heart flower embellishment for my tag, I stamped the 'wavy' heart four times on white cardstock. I cut the hearts out with a Spellbinder Nestabilities, adhered them to a circle, and then adhered the circle to a scalloped circle. I used Memento tuxedo black ink to stamp the hearts just in case I decided to color them with Copic markers.

The 'dotted' heart on the clothespin was stamped on pink cardstock and cut out.

This photograph shows the 'cross-hatch' hearts that I really like also. 
Well, I'm off to stamp more hearts and make more tags. Hope you have a creative day. Stay warm! Linda

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New Shipping Changes

Due to the increase in USPS shipping costs in 2011, we have no choice but to raise our flat rate shipping cost so that we may continue to provide excellent shipping services that our customers have experienced with us over the years. We thank you and appreciate your understanding on this matter. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Effective immediately, orders under $75.00 will be charge one flat shipping fee:
• $6.50 for Standard Shipping service delivered within 5-10 business days.
• $13.50 for Rush Shipping service delivered within 2-5 business days.



Notice to Gold Member!

Our gold members will be receiving more perks to being a Gold Member. With our new shipping program, small orders of 2-3 markers will receive a discount rate of $4.99 to show our appreciation and to thank you for your continuous support through the year. Complete details of the New Gold Member shipping program are as follows:

- Gold members will continue to receive free shipping for orders over $50.00 as it was before. - Smaller purchases such as 2-10 markers will only incur a $4.99 shipping charge instead of the $6.50 shipping fee.

Notice to International Customer!

By now, many of our International Customers have probably used or heard about our International Shipping Option Number 3. If you haven’t heard of this option before please allow us to show you how to save!
iCopic’s International Shipping Option #3 is USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope/Box. It will provide you with the same delivery time (6-10 business days) at a cheaper shipping cost at $16.50 instead of $25-45.00. Why is it so much cheaper? It is because by using this service, customer will agree that you can’t track or get updates on the package’s progress. Insurance is not optional to purchase and due to the limited sizes that envelopes/boxes available, you will only be able to fit selected products.

This option is not currently on our website and if you would like to select this option please email us prior to placing an order.
Shipping Option 3: $16.50 USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Box/Envelope International
- Delivery time within 6-10 business days
a. Insurance is NOT optional
b. Tracking is NOT optional (buyer or seller cannot get update where the package is currently at).
c. Only select products can fit in the envelope or box




We hope that you are not over overwhelmed with all the information above and as always we thank you for yourcontinuous support and understanding.

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Love Edward Card

Hi everyone! Samantha here, bringing you a valentine's themed card. This one features SP and Company stamps AND my favorite stamp from The Greeting Farm - Edward!! I am a Twilight fanatic and this little guy is just oh so cute!

I colored Edward in with the following Copic colors:

• For the hair and eyes: E31, E33, E35, and E37
• For the skin: E00
• For the shirts: Y15, Y17, and YG23
• For the pants: B93 and B95
• For the shoes: B39

Then I stamped and layered the banner from the SP and Company Pretty Pendants stamp set. In the center of each of the pendants, I stamped the tiny heart from the SP and Company Rain Boots stamp set (the heart is one of the many cute little shapes for you to use to decorate the rain boots!!). On the very corner of the banner, I used a black Copic Multiliner SP (SP multiliners are refillable!) to draw a line and a bow to extend the banner across the entire card.

And finally the sentiment was stamped from the SP and Company I Love Love stamp set.

The following Stampin' UP classic inks were used: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, and Pretty in Pink.

The black ink is Memento Tuxedo Black. 

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Tuesday Tips and Tricks: Ribbon Ideas

Hi! Wanda, here! Today I'm sharing my favorite trick - Copics and ribbon. have you ever searched high and low for that PERFECT color of ribbon? Search no more...make your own! Did you know that you can have 350 different colors of ribbon?? Yes - by coloring white ribbon with Copic Markers!

I started today with my three favorite colors for Spring...Pink, Blue and Chartreuse...and some plain white grosgrain and some black and white gingham ribbons...

Color directly onto your ribbon and voila! It's magic!  

With the plain white ribbon you can get a little wild and crazy...stripes, dots, blending colors together. The only thing stopping ya is your imagination!  Have fun and play with it! Make that gorgeous dark teal blue ribbon for your card...or blend all the colors of the rainbow in a tie dye effect!

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iCopic Color Challenge #13

Hi everyone! Welcome to color challenge #13!


As always, to enter, follow these easy steps:
1. Become a follower of our blog, if you aren’t already.
2. Post your original creation with your entry and the link back to iCopic's Color Challenge on your blog. You can make ANY type of project that includes the use of Copics: greeting card, scrapbook page, altered art, 3D project, illustration, etc. Anything goes as long as Copics are used!
3. The colors need to be as close to the challenge’s color theme as possible.

The challenge will end on Sunday, January 23rd (Noon EST). The winner will be chosen by the True Random Number Generator.



And here is a beautiful project from Linda. She used some brand new Copic Ciao colors!! YAY!

*designates new Ciao markers
V000
*V01 G20
V12 G21
V15 G24
V17 G28
Y32 E00
*Y35 E11
Y38 R20
E34 *E40
E35 *E41
E37 E42


Enter the challenge here:

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Cupid's Arrow ~

Hi all!  It's Alyssa today with a fun little valentine's day card.  I really wanted to focus today on skin shading and use some of my newer skin tones.  This cute little Cupid is a free digital stamp I found somewhere in my blog hopping.  ETA: This Cupid was a freebie that was given away on the Make It Crafty blog for Christmas.  He is now for sale.  He's just adorable and oh.so.fun to color!  I'll start with the close up of the coloring:

His skin is colored with E000, E00, E02, E11 & E13.  The shaded or shadowed areas are colored first with E13 and blended out with E11.  These shades can also be used for a more Latino or tan color skin.  Next, I blended with E00 and finally E000.  The E02 is for the blush in his cheeks. 

The gold banner around his waist is colored with Y21, Y26, & Y28.  I really wanted it to blend with the gold ribbon I used, so I used a clear glitter pen, scribbled some on and moved the glitter around with an aquapainter. 

The sentiment is embossed on a heart and leads you to the inside of the card. 

Which reads...

Hope you are all off to a great start on your weekend!  You still have a few days to play along with iCopic color challenge #12 - White, Yellow & Pink for a chance to win some fabulous SP & Company stamps!  Thanks for stopping by!  :o) lyss

COPICS USED:

Blender pen, BG10, C1, E000, E00, E02, E11, E13, E25, E27, E29, E31, E33, R24, R29, Y21, Y26, Y28

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Thursday's Treat

Hi, Linda here with a tasty treat.

For today's card I used the colors from Color Challenge #12.

Copic Markers:
R20, 22, 24
Y0000,11, 13, 15
Memento tuxedo black ink
Your Next Stamp (Jan. release) 'Celebration Cake and Sentiment'


The flower embellishments on my card are Jolee's. Originally they were white, but I colored them with Copic markers so they were more visible on the white cardstock. I have discovered I can make pearls, flowers, and cardstock coordinate with my pattern paper by simply coloring them with my Copics. Easy peasy!

I hope you have a great day creating! Stay warm! LindaC

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Under the Sea Card

Helloooooo there! Wanda here! I'm secretly singing "Under the Sea" from Little Mermaid as I'm typing this post today. Such a happy song from a great movie. I'm getting into the theme of it all! The card for today features the lovely Miss Mermaid Anya! So frickin' adorable...really... I had a lot of fun with this one and kept adding stuff to her and enjoying using a very vivid and bright color scheme. Hope you like her too!

Here is a close up of the shading and coloring. I added lots of pearls to her, and created a little scene for her to float in...some coral, shells and a starfish. I kinda feel like mermaids should be all glittery and pretty, so I added stickles to her eyeshadow and her fins.

 Links: iCopic Blog and if you want to buy Mermaid Anya!

Here are the steps I used to color her hair. Again...remember dark colors are hard...so take your time and work with it and practice. Also, be sure to leave some white space for shiny locks. I used E57 first to lay down the foundation color.


Next, I added some darker brown to her roots and ends to give some depth of color. I finished off with a lighter beige color to blend it all together. I even went over the white part with the E42. You can do that part either way depending on the effect you like.

Here she is pre-pearls and glitter!

She is a California mermaid...of course! Sending a little love your way from my corner of the world! I used a seashell border punch from Martha Stewart and lots of scallops to look like waves. Then I added some Making Memories shell brads and more pearls...I see it didn't take me long to move back to my "more is more" philosophy after posting that clean and simple card on Monday! haha.  

"Up on the shore they work all day, Out in the sun they slave away, While we devotin' full time to floatin'
Under the sea...."

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