How do I Organize my Copics?

I have had quite a few people lately ask me how I organize my Copic Markers. I have a somewhat anemic collection, but I am prepared for future growth!!

I purchased these great boxes from a variety of stores. I first found them at a local Office Depot. I have since ordered them from Staples.com and OfficeMax.com. They are made by Eldon/Rubbermaid. There are several things I love about them: You can store tons of pens in a small space. The "X" keeps pens separated by colors or types, and the "X" is removable so you can use the boxes for another use in the future. I love having the pens right at my fingertips, but not having to take up my workspace with pen cases. These boxes measure about 6" square, so this whole setup is only 1 foot square! This is a much more efficient storage solution than the cases Copic sells. The only downside is that this is not really a portable solution. I have an empty Sketch case that I use when I want to travel with my pens.

This is a wider view showing my stamping desk. I had my sweet hubby install a shelf about 8 inches above my stamping desk. This really increases my available storage space. I can put small drawers and pens under the shelf and my ink pads, paper stacks, and Copics. I have floating glass shelves above all of this stuff to hold my paper flowers!!

Feeling Like Autumn

My wonderful sister-in-law and her hubby always send the best gifts to my kids for their birthdays....the gift of reading, in the form of Barnes & Noble gift cards. My kids are always so excited to get them and can't wait to use them. My youngest son turned 9 a couple of weeks ago, so I needed to make a thank-you card and today is the day!

This card layout is from the SCS Sketch Challenge #247 last week. I used this layout for both of the cards I made today. I painted Angel Wings Shimmerz over the pumpkins after coloring them.

Card Deets:

• Paper: SU! Tangerine Tango DP, SU! Chocolate Chip, Papertrey White
• Stamps: CHF Background, Verve Visual Tall Oaks, Papertrey sentiment
• Ink: Adirondack Espresso, SU! Chocolate Chip
• Accessories: Satin Edge Organdy with Metallic Stripe, Angel Wings Shimmerz, Kaiser Chocolate Pearls, Copic Markers

I needed to make a sympathy card for some dear friends who lost their son last week. You never really know the right thing to say and do, but I want them to know we are thinking about them and praying for them.

Card Deets:

• Paper: SU! Haiku, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango
• Stamps: SU! Brighter Days, Papertrey First Fruits
• Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Tangerine Tango, Ruby Red, and Versamark
• Accessories: 7/8" Chocolate Organdy, Chocolate Brads, Embossing Powder

Halloween and Christmas Unite!!

I am in Halloween and Christmas mode this week. With the new paper lines from Basic Grey, the creative juices are flowing all over autumn, Christmas, and Halloween. I can't stop thinking about cards using these 3 paper lines...I'm even dreaming about cards!

This is a very simple card, quite a few layers, but still a fairly "clean and simple card". There are few embellishments, just the three pearls in the centers of the snowflakes. Making the triangles for the background is very easy. I just cut two squares the size I need for that layer of the card. Turning the squares diagonally on my paper cutter, I cut from corner to corner, then take each resulting triangle and cut it in 1/2 by lining the point up with the groove the blade slides in. Fiskars makes a great paper cutter to use for this, I end up with 8 triangles, enough paper for 2 cards.

Card deets:

• Paper Papertrey white, Stampin' Up! Garden Green, Purely Pomegranate, Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up! Garden Green
• Stamps: Elzybells main image and sentiment, Stampin' Up! Snow Burst
• Accessories: Kaiser Pearls in Bliss, Copic Markers

I just love Witchybella....just her name makes me giggle, especially when I'm in a bad mood and feeling a little Witchybella myself! LOL I cut the pieces to this card in error last year and they sat in my basket just waiting for Halloween to roll around again. Don't ask me why I couldn't just make it into a card and wait a year to share...guess the Halloween creativity was all used up last year.

Card deets:

• Paper: Papertrey white, Stampin' Up! DP, Only Orange and Basic Black
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Lovely Lilac
• Stamps: Stampin' Up! Bitty Boos Too, Stampingbella Witchybella
• Accessories: Kaiser Rhinestones in Orange, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Satin Ribbon in Orange and Royal Purple, 5/8" Grosgrain in Black, Stampin' Up! scallop border punch, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol

Happy Sunday, and enjoy!

Masculine Cards and Halloween

I always have a hard time stamping masculine cards. I think it's the fact that I feel I cannot use ribbon, and most other embellishments just tend to "girl" up a card. I needed a couple of thank-you cards for our Cub Scouts to give to two men who helped us with achievements. One of them is a veteran and taught us to fold a flag, raise it up a flag pole, and gave us a history lesson. To top it off, his wife is a stamper extraordinaire!!

I was flipping through my Basic Grey June Bug 6x6 paper pad and saw some great patriotic paper and this card just grew from there. I used Stampin' Up!'s "The Free and the Brave" stamp set and only Aged Copper brads for embellishments. I guess the stars might also count as embellishments, but they are just stamped and cut out.

I've been in a Halloween slump. Basic Grey came out with this great Halloween paper pack called "Eerie". There are a bunch of fabulous papers inside, but nothing was speaking to me. Maybe I need more Halloween stamp sets....I don't know what it is. Anyway, I thought about Halloween cards in my head for a couple of days and finally this card sort of designed itself. I used Orange Juice, Leprechaun, and Summertime buttons and tied 1/8" Organdy through the holes. This ribbon is extremely inexpensive; you can purchase 1 yard each of 41 colors for only $5.30!!

Have a fabulous stamping day!

Eskimo Kisses

I never can get enough of Riley stamps. I just ordered a few more last weekend! I usually purchase mine at Hannah Stamps, she has free shipping when you spend $35, which is only 5 wood mounted Riley stamps....can't wait for the mail lady to bring them to me!!

This card utilizes three different basic techniques that can make your papercrafting more interesting.

• The first is Colorblocking: I love to use this technique when I want to put a number of different designer papers on the same project. I actually used 5 different papers from the Eskimo Kisses paper pack. See if you can spot all 5 of them. To do a colorblock, I usually start with my background paper (navy in this case) and measure out the size of my first piece. On this project, I cut the striped piece at the top and then worked my way around the card, measuring and cutting as I went. A good paper cutter is essential for this technique; be sure to use one with tiny increments. My favorite to use on my desktop is made by Fiskars and has a sliding orange blade. You can make your blocks as large or as small as you want. I opted for only 4 large blocks on this card.
• The second technique is Paper Piecing: If you look closely at Riley's chair, you can see it is actually stamped on patterned paper. To paper piece a project, just stamp your image as you normally would on white or another neutral paper. Then, ink your stamp again and stamp onto a piece of patterned paper. Now, you will cut up the image you stamped on the patterned paper. I cut out the three different parts of the chair/ottoman. Make sure to use very good scissors with sharply pointed tips. After cutting out the chair and coloring the main image, I simply glued the chair pieces over the image stamped on white cardstock.
• The third technique is Paper Piercing: Look closely at the corners of my main panel. I pierced the 4 corners of this panel. It is harder to see in the photo, but in person, it leaves a really nice touch.

Card Deets:

• Paper: Stampin' Up! Night of Navy, Papertrey White, Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses 6x6 Pad
• Stamps: Riley Moose, Stampin' Up! sentiment inside
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Accessories: Cuttlebug, Square Nestabilities, Navy Brads, Tiny red pearl on top of the cupcake, Navy Satin Ribbon, Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol

Friends to the End

This is one of the cutest stamps! It's by Inky Antics and makes me warm and fuzzy and happy inside!!

This card also shows off the Indian Summer paper pack. I used gold Stickles on the scallops, gold brads, and gold cord. The coloring was simple, just 4 colors and I used my Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol.

Card Deets:

• Paper: Basic Grey Indian Summer 6x6 pad, Papertrey white, Stampin' Up! Basic Black & Purely Pomegranate
• Stamps: Inky Antics, Papertrey Ink "Mixed Messages" (sentiment)
• Ink: Versamark, Palette Noir
• Accessories: Gold Brads, Gold Cord, Gold Stickles, Black Pearls, Cuttlebug, Rectangle Nestabilities, SU oval punches, foam tape,

I Can't Wait for Fall!!

I have always loved the fall. When I was a kid, my favorite parts of fall were getting new school clothes, eating peaches from our neighbor's orchard while waiting for the bus, stuffing more peaches into the pockets of my coat to eat later, jumping in piles of colored leaves, enjoying the crisp air on my cheeks in the morning, and heading to school with a brand-new box of crayons.

Fall makes me feel happy now because it's fun to send my kids back to school and have a quiet house for most of the day. I love when it starts raining again. We are blessed to live in a place where we can see the storms moving through the valley. We have an amazing view, no matter the weather. I enjoy getting back to a schedule after the lazy days of summer. I love watching the colors of the farms in the valley change with the season. The blueberry fields are my favorite....the leaves of the blueberry bushes turn bright red!

I have had this kitty stamp for a while and never yet laid ink to rubber....it's about time! The stamp is called Fall Fun Kitty by Whipper Snapper Designs. I love kitties and this stamp called to me the first time I saw it. The stamp reminds me of the best parts of fall, the joy of the season, and the fleeting vibrant colors. The kitty just makes me happy, and the leaves were so fun to color! I sponged the edges of the main panel using the cutting die as a mask. The one leaf at the very top is cut out and popped up on foam tape....actually, it's there to hide a smudge, but don't tell anyone....shhhhh....

Card Deets:

• Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs "Fall Fun Kitty", Papertrey Ink "First Fruits" (sentiment)
• Paper: Papertrey Ink White, Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Basic Grey Indian Summer
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up! Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive
• Accessories: Cuttlebug, Labels One Dies, corner rounder, Kaiser Pearls in Black, 3/8" Organdy in Rust and Gold, Burlap String in Rust, Natural, and Black, Gold Cord, Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol.....I really need to enhance my Copic collection!

Hope you enjoy!

~~Heidi~~