My Copic Marker journey . . . so far

Hello everyone, my name is Rita and I am your card blog host for this week.

Welcome to my COPIC JOURNEY . . . so far

Who would have thought! I have been an avid scrapper of mainly layouts and beyond the page items for many years, followed by making cards to give to family and friends. I like to use my Spellbinder, Cuttlebug and Cricut machines, but have now discovered stamps, and what is more – stamps coloured with Copics. I now have a magic tool to enhance some of my projects and look at colours and designs in a different way. The markers work so well with all projects requiring some extra colour or a little bit of oomph!

How did I start? - I arrived at Scrapbook City one day and was greeted by Leisa with ‘guess what we have in stock now?’ and that was the beginning of my journey (thanks Leis!) . . . what a new world! I prefer the Sketch Markers carried by the Store because:

· They are easy to find (with the number on the lid), and store

· In my opinion, a beginners guide of colours would be to have at least two Copic colours from each colour family ( illustrated below) for blending and highlighting your project (however, it is hard to stop at 2!)

· The Sketch markers are Airbrush compatible (more of that later in the week)

· Unique shape - they dont’ roll away from you when you put them down on the table

To get started colouring with Copics, my basic necessities are:

· Blending paper

· Colourless Blender pen/ink (refillable) – this pen is used for making colours lighter and for fixing
mistakes (more later)

· Ink your favourite stamp with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink (fade-resistant dye ink)

· Copic Sketch Markers of your choice (also refillable)

There are lots of on-line tutorials and I have a couple of favourites – it is a matter of personal preference I think. When I first started colouring with Copics, I realised very quickly not to get too disappointed if things don’t work out immediately – it is a matter of practice and personal preference to gain the end result.

Here is a very quick idea for using Copics . . . For this image, I have purposely used the feathered look to highlight the shading of the two colours (from each family) used. For me, this image lends itself to this type of colouring as well – a bit quirky. That’s what I love about Copics – you can add as little or as much as you like to achieve the effect you are most happy with.	Choosing and experimenting with colour combinations on blending card	Step 1 – Laying down base with E000
Step 2 – adding highlights with E00 and R20 for cheeks	Step 3 - V15, V12 and a touch of V000 for Dress and shoes	Step 4 – same colour combination for flower, but added Y35 & Y38 for middle of flower
Step 5 – RV 11 & RV14 for handbag and necklace	Step 6 – E51 & E53 for hat and BG000 for mirror reflection	Step 7 – C1 & C3 for ground and Ranger Star Dust stickles on purse, flower & necklace (a girl has to have some bling J)

And the finished card . . . . using Spellbinders Classic Ovals large, edged oval shape with Spun Sugar Distress Ink, mounted on to embossed Bazzill cardstock (using Cuttlebug), layered onto purple Bazzill cardstock. Added a little Copic pen to the embossing with a touch more of the Ranger Star Dust stickles.

I have come a long way on my short journey so far, and look forward to learning something new all the time. I would love to hear about your Copic experiences too!

It would be great to catch up with other Copic enthusiasts at the upcoming Scrapbook City Retreat next weekend! (perhaps you could share your photography skills with me too J )