Just Saying Hello!

Hello Stamping Friends!

Hope you had a wonderful Father’s Day Weekend.  We celebrated my nephew’s high school graduation Friday night, hung out at home all day Saturday, and had a fabulous family day yesterday – pedicures, dinner, and church.  And of course lots of snuggling with my grandson.  Ohhhh . . . I could just eat him up!!

I’m back today to share my ABC Toys & Crafts card.  This week the design team is featuring the product of the week – Copic Markers.  I adore working with my Copics – the colors are so beautiful and vibrant, and they have the ability to be blended to create images that are so life-like and dimensional.  They produce an effect that you just can’t get with any other coloring medium.   They have a bit of a learning curve, but if you work with them as often as possible, it’s like riding a bike – a breeze!  You DON’T need to be a certified Copic designer in order to use these markers.  And there’s so much wonderful information out there, both online and at many craft stores – anyone can work with Copics.  I can tell you from the bottom of my heart that they’ve been worth every penny that I’ve ever spent.

STAMPS:  Antique Engravings and Truly Appreciated (Hero Arts)
INK:  Tuxedo Black (Memento)
PAPER:  White CS (Neenah), Black Licorice CS (Poptone)
ACCESSORIES:  Copic Markers,3-D Dots (EK Success),  Eclipse Masking Tape

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Okay, so back to my card.  I used the masking technique to stamp the butterflies on my card.  First, I stamped the center butterfly on the image panel.  Then I stamped the same butterfly on my Eclipse Masking Tape and cut out the image.  I placed the cut out mask over the top of the stamped butterfly on the image panel, and then stamped the same butterfly to the right of the center image, and then to the left.  When you peel away the mask, it gives the appearance that the yellow/orange butterfly is in front of the blue and purple butterfly.  Cool, huh?

Then I colored each of the butterflies with my Copic Markers.  I chose three markers in each color family.  You can see which markers I used in the picture above.  Once you decide on your color scheme, choosing which colors to use is really easy.  I have a chart that I use to see the variegation in each color family.  That makes it REALLY easy to choose.  I used a cool gray to create a shadow around the outside of the butterflies, to give it a bit more dimension and realistic pop.  I was inspired by a similar card that I saw on Jennifer McGuire's blog.

ABC Toys & Crafts is taking 20% off all Copic Markers – both the sets and the individual markers.  You don’t need a discount code or coupon – the discount is already taken, and will be honored between now and June 26th.  I hope that you’ll be brave and give them a try.  They’re really not as scary as you might think.  Once you try them, you’ll be hooked!!

That’s it for me today, kids!  Thanks so much for stopping by!!  Hugs!