Custom Color Copic Marker Tutorial

Ok- I finally did it. I finally imported the pictures for the Custom Color Copic Marker tutorial to my computer. Took me ages, I know. I am the worst. It takes so much work to manipulate photos on my netbook....but I did it.

I picked E21 and E25 to make my custom copic marker for two reasons. A- the jump in color from E21 to E25 is a bit drastic and it would be easier for me to blend if I made an E23 custom color marker. B- I already had and E21 and E25 Various Ink refill on hand.

Below is the picture tutorial of how I did it. Enjoy!

Supplies you will need to make a Custom Color Copic Marker:

Paper Towels (the ink can stain so you want to protect your work surface)

An Empty Various Ink Bottle

An Empty Copic Marker

A Copic Booster Needle

Two Various Ink Refills - Here I am using E21 and E25 to make custom color E23

(I purchased my Various Ink refills, nibs, boosters, and empty bottle and marker from creativeplaystamps.com- I had my supplies in just 3 days- Laura rocks!)

Open all your bottles- the empty Various Ink bottle and your E21 and E25 various ink bottles.

Below is what the empty various ink bottle should look like once you have screwed off the top and the tip.

Use the tickmarks on the side of the empty bottle as a guide to fill your empty various ink bottle with equal parts of E21 and E25 various ink. I used about a quarter bottle of each as I still want to have left over ink in each color to refill my E21 and E25 markers.

Here is what your various ink bottle should look like once you have filled it with an equal part of E21 and E25. (Put the cap back on and gently shake to mix the colors together.)

Screw the booster needle onto the bottle and insert that into the broad tip end of your empty marker (make sure you take the broad marker tip out carefully before doing so) and fill the marker with about 2 cc's of ink. DO NOT OVERFILL... if you add too much ink to the marker, you will make a runny mess of your marker and will need to let it sit out until the excess ink evaporates so you don't get pools of ink on your cardstock when you color.

Put the broad marker tip back in the maker.

Here is what your custom marker will look like right after you fill it. Let it sit for a bit which both caps off so that it will preasurize and the ink will distribute evenly to both tips.

Here is what the custom marker looks like after it pressurizes...

Here are my completed custom color marker and refill. I colored a patch on some scratch paper and just glued it to the caps with 2 way zig glue.

Here is what the colors look like individually-

I have used this color trio to color the wood in the picture below. E21- E23custom- E25. I really like how much more easier this blend is than trying to shade with just the E21 and the E25.
Recipe: Nuthatch digi from The Stamping Boutique, PTI Stampers Select White Vintage Cream and Aqua Mist cardstock, PTI Everyday Blessings patterned paper, Nestabilities Labels One, Kaisercraft Pearls, Prima roses, Copics: YR24 E21 E23custom E25 BG11 BG23 BG15 BG49 B41 B45 B37 G20 G24 G82 C5 C7

Spesch Candy Alert!

Woo Hoo! Look at Tracey's awesome candy at Spesch Stamps. They are celebrating the opening of the new store. For any of you in my Color Me Creative Copic Class 3 who saw my homework with the cute little girl holding the bunny that was a Spesch digistamp called Bonnie and you can win the clear stamp version in this candy. And Tracey's store is where it came from. Anyway... hop on over to see the details and enter to win this awesome candy.

Happy Mother's Day

Here is the card I made with my 3D flower that I wanted to do the tutorial on...but since Kim's flowers on the Club Anya blog look better I will just show you my card instead. Although I will say my card is flat enough to be mailed with regular postage and requires no drying time because I used a glue dot instead of wet glue to hold the flower center...wink wink nudge nudge. Ok I digress. Here again I have used that free American Crafts paper and the .99 cent Making Memories trim. Isn't it so cute...those are little crotchet butterflies. I am telling you my eyes bugged out of my head when I saw that you got 5 different trims for only .99 cents. I bought all the packs they had (only 3) but still!!! What a great deal.

Recipe: Camellia frame digi from Bird's Cards... I manipulated it in Microsoft paint to add the Mother's Day sentiment with Pea Valerie font from kevinandamanda.com..fonts for peas. American Crafts designer paper and glitter paper. Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist and Stampers Select White Cardstock, Making Memories Spring Trims, Martha Stewart Doily Lace Punch, Reflections Pearls, 6 petal Flower Punch, SU! Baja Breeze DSP, Ecohouse Citrus Cleaner and CVS Wooden Stick Cotton Swabs, Prismacolor Pencils: Light Aqua Pale Sage Jade Green Limepeel Celadon Green Muted Turquoise Apple Green French Grey 50% , Copics: BG11, G20

Queen For A Day...

I have to express that I am very grumpy and upset today. GRRR! 1- my cable was out last night so I could not watch American Idol or Glee, and 2- the tutorial I meant to do this week has already been done on the Club Anya blog. And here I thought I had figured something out all by myself...aparently it wasn't too difficult if others caught on so quickly ...lol! So no 3D flower tutorial from me this week. I will post a tutorial on how to make custom copic colors though... soon to come...stay tuned. Oh and I forgot it was Cinco De Mayo...Somebody have some Margaritas tonight in my honor since I can't drink them :0(

Recipe: White Queen digi from Spesch stamps, American Crafts designer paper, PTI Stampers Select White and Hawaiian Shores cardstock, Making Memories Spring Trim, PTI Everyday blessings designer paper, SU! Butterfly Bigz die, Bigshot, Reflections pearls, White gel pen, Smooch illuminate, Catholic Schoolgirl computer font, Copics: BG11 BG23 BG49 E11 E13 E31 E37 E27 E57 R21 C00

Sharing in Your Sorrow

This is another request card for my mom. Her best friend Lily's mother passed away. The wake was a Budhist ceremony and the family signed a mother's day card I made and placed it in the coffin with Lily's mother with her other things for her to have in the afterlife. I thought that was really beautiful.

This is another card made with the free paper and .99 cent goodies I got on National Scrapbooking Day! I wish I had picked up a few more of those glitter papers...

PS- please forgive my pictures lately...there is something funky going on with my camera where it will not focus close-up no matter what I try to do. I think it fell of my bed at one point, may need to take it to the doctor.

Recipe: Camelia Frame digi by Bird's Cards, Sentiment by SU!, American Crafts designer and glitter paper, PTI Stampers Select White and Hawaiian Shores cardstock, Martha Stewart Doily Lace Punch, Making Memories Spring Trims, Reflections Pearls, Foam Dots, Smooch Illuminate, Ecohouse Citrus Cleaner and Prismacolor Pencils Light Aqua- Pale Sage- Jade Green- Limepeel- Celadon Green- Muted Turquoise- Apple Green- French Grey, Copics BG11 and G20

Lighthouse Scenery

I had a blast this weekend for National Scrapbooking Day! While I didn't scrap anything... I did use the day as an excuse to take a walk around Michael's.... I did manage to pick up some scrapbooking supplies for the book I need to make for a briday shower. They were in the process of revamping all the shelves at the store so they had a ton of great stuff on clearance. I got the cutest Making Memories Spring Trims for .99 and they have this cute American Crafts Paper marked down to .27 cents a sheet....well when I got to the register it rang up at .01 cents so you know what that means.... it was FREE!!! That's right it was headed for the trash bin so they gave it to me for free. Needless to say I was tickled pink.

I made a bunch of cards out of those goodies and did some experimenting. I have finally found a blue copic combo that I like B41, B45, B37. Plus I made my first custom copic color- E23...E21+ E25. I will post a tutorial on how I did that sometime this week.

This card is one that my mother wanted to give to a friend that is missing someone they have not spoken to for years. She is a fan of my cards and wanted one so they could to write to this person. I really hope this card helps them reconnect.



Recipe: Light House digi by Tiddly Inks, PTI Filable Frames #3 stamp set and die, American Crafts Metropolitain Sushi Bar and High Rise designer paper, PTI Stampers Select White and Hawaiian Shores cardstock, Making Memories Spring trim, Reflections pearls, Copics: G20, G24, G82, B41, B45, B37, E31, E33, E34, E42, C00, C1, C3

Pretty Kitty and Blog Candy Winner

Ok! It is time to reveal the winner of the Blog Candy.... drumroll please...

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers: 4
Timestamp: 2010-04-30 14:34:51 UTC

Comment number 4 was from Sande!

Sande said...
Love you blog and your work.Would love to win the 'candy'.
April 26, 2010 5:40 PM

Well Sande...you have won the candy!!! Please email me at michellena317@comcast.net with your mailing address.

As for today's card... I saw this adorable image from Pink Cat Studio and thought it was perfect for Mother's Day. I was trying to do a clean and simple card...but with me nothing can ever be simple. I simply must fill in every inch of open space on a card with something. I definately need to give some of my cards a Make Under! I think this one is pretty simple for me though.

Recipe: Kitty Fashionista digi from Pink Cat Studio, PTI Plum Pudding Sweet Blush Lavender Moon Kraft and Stampers Select White cardstock and Dotty Biscotti designer paper, Lavender Moon satin ribbon, Prima leather flower embellishment, Smooch Illuminate paint, CAC Pinafore computer font, Kaisercraft Pearls, Nestabilities Labels One, corner rounder, Copics- Eyes: BG23 BG15 BG49 Hat: Y26 Y21 YR24 Kitty: C3 C5 C7 Purse/Flower trim on Hat:R81 R83 R85

Blog Candy

-This post will remain at the top until Thursday- scroll down for more recent posts-

Hey everybody! I finally have the pictures of the blog candy. So sorry for the delay.

There are lots of goodies here: SU! Kraft- Almost Amethyst -Orchic Opulence- So Saffron -Sage Shadow cardstock, SU! -Basic Grey- Kaisercraft -and PTI patterned paper, envelopes, a 6 x 6 SEI mini scrapbook, 3 Studio G mini stamp sets, a mini block, CTMH "A Friend Is" stamp set, 3 copic markers- (V000, V15, Colorless Blender), a black micron journalling pen, 7 Prismacolor Pencils, blending Tortillions, charms, assorted felt- fabric- and paper flowers, white buttons, assorted ribbons, 3mm white pearl strands, rain dots, Tatered Angels glimmer chips, Queen & Co mini-brads, a Memento Tuxedo Black dew drop ink pad, Georgia Pacific White cardstock, Tim Holtz Sizzix die cuts.








Okay- all you have to do is post a comment on this post. Remember you must be a follower to enter. Winner will be drawn by random interger on Thursday April 29th at 8pm. If you have any problems leaving comments please just email me at michellena317@comcast.net to enter.

Fun With New Toys!

So the other day I let you guys in on a little secret- I feel like I have lost my mojo. I have at this moment in time 10 cards that I need to make (either requests or Mother's Day I need to send). I still have not done one card that I need to do...but last night I opened up my box that arrived from PTI and I actually did a little playing. Inside my magic box of tricks was cardstock in my favorite colors- pinks and purples...and their new release designer paper- Dotty Biscotti...yes you guessed it ...it is polkadot paper... plus this fabulous leaf ribbon that I decided to order on a whim. I decided to color up this new digi set I got from Tiddly Inks called Bloom Q. I played with my new Smooch Illuminate paint, and I finally opened my new Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch. I used my new Tim Hotlz Alterations Baroque die too! The flowers I picked for this card didn't really match the papers so I colored over them with my Copic RV10 and V91 markers.

The only thing I am not crazy about on this card is that the Smooch made my digi lines run a bit...that is the gray you may see on the flower. Live and Learn....now I know not to color over printed lines with Smooch.

You have until 8pm ET tonight to enter to win the blog candy. I will post the winner tomorrow!



Recipe: BloomQ Digi by Tiddly Inks, PTI Plum Pudding Lavender Moon Sweet Blush Kraft Stampers Select White and Dotty Biscotti cardstocks and paper, Martha Stewart Doily Lace Punch, SU! Wide Oval and Scallop Oval Punches, PTI Leaf Ribbon, Prima French White Flowers, Tim Holtz Alterations Baroque die, Smooch Illuminate, Kaisercraft Blush Pearls, Copic Markers- Skin: E000 E00 E21 Clothes/Flower: R20 RV32 RV23 RV21 R21 RV21 RV10 Y23 Y32 Y35 Hair:Y21 Y23 E35

Spring Mother's Day and American Idol Chit Chat

Ok here is another attempt at a Mother's Day card...I think we are improving here. Played some more with my Tim Hotltz Alterations dies... loving them... this one is the On the Edge Ornate die.

What did you all think of Idol last night? Now I personally LOVE Shania...so for me it was a good night. I have seen her in concert, have most of her albums...know her songs by heart. I guess I am a closet country/pop fan. I really liked everybody last night. This is so hard for me...I don't even really have a favorite. Shiobahn was a bit rough for me but she came through at the end of the song and won over the judges. I really liked Lee. Aaron sang my favorite Shania song...so I have to give him some props. Glad he changed the lyrics...since he was singing to him Mom and all. I really don't know who is gonna go home.

I can now also say I am officially a GLEEK! I really like Glee. I watched it again last night and I think I really like it because I was in the Glee club in highschool...of course we didn't call it that, it was just Chorus. :0)

Don't forget to enter to win the blog candy if you are a follower!

Recipe: SU! Serene Spring stamp set and All Holidays sentiment, PTI Vintage cream, Stampers Select White and Aqua Mist cardstock, PTI Everyday Blessings designer paper, Nestabilities Labels One, Tim Holtz Alterations On the Edge Ornate die, Reflections pearls, AC Moore flowers, Pearl brad from RAK, London Fog Memento Ink, Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, SU! Scallop Edge border and corner punches, Felt, Tim Holtz Alterations Tatered Florals die, Copic markers

Celebrate Mom

Ok guys, I have lost my mojo. I cleaned and organized my stamp space...and I must have thrown it away. lol! I have not colored a darn thing with my copics in over two weeks...everything I have posted was either colored with Prismacolor pencils or stuff I colored weeks ago and just never made it onto a card.



I need some serious stamp time...no cooking, no cleaning, no working, no collecting of more and more stamping supplies AKA shopping, no napping (I am very guilty of this one lately)...just creating! I have got to get some Mother's Day cards going.



Here is one card that I forced myself to make because I wanted to play with my new Tim Holtz Alterations dies and Smooch Illuminate paint....It is almost a Mother's Day card... looks more like a darn birthday card to me. I dunno... I am in desperate need of some divine inspiration! Do you guys ever get "stampers block" too?



Recipe: Stamp by Denami Designs, PTI Lemon Tart- Aqua Mist and Stampers Select White Cardstock, PTI designer paper, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, Prismacolor Pencils, Ecohouse Citrus Solvent, Smooch Illuminate paint, Felt, Tim Holtz Alterations Tatered Florals die, Tim Holtz Alterations On the Edge Brackets die, Prima eLine pearls, SU! Modern Label Punch, BG11 Copic marker, computer font for sentiment.

Thank You Bear

Happy Monday! I decided to leave the blog candy up for a few extra days to give more people a chance to win... remember it is only for followers- as a thank you for hanging out we me and my crazy antics here on my blog! I will do the drawing Thursday night and announce a winner on Friday.



I have had this cute card half done for about two weeks now. I don't know why for some reason it just looked unfinished to me. I can't stand having any open space on my cards...I am just not a clean and simple style girl I guess. Yesterday I came up with the fabulous idea of adding on the buttons and viola! finally this card is done. Hope you like it!

Recipe: Digi stamp from MelJen's designs, PTI Plum Pudding and Stampers Select White cardstock, PTI Guidelines patterned paper, CTMH buttons, SU! twine, Felt, Tim Holtz Alterations Tatterd Florals die, Making Memories Rhinestone brads, Tim Holtz Alterations On the Edge Brackets die, Copics: V000 V04 V12 YR21 YR24 R20 RV10 G20 G82, white gel pen.

Trying something new...Flank Steak with Chimichurri recipe

Ok- bear with me here folks...trying something new. I saw this receipe for Flank Steak that I am dying to try so I am posting it here to my blog....mostly for my benefit... so I can watch it later and cook ;0)


http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/flank-steak-with-chimichurri

Will post again later tonight once I have pictures of the blog candy!!!