Technique Thursday: Copic Airbrush

It is amazing what you can do with a can of air and a Copic marker.

Think of all of those surfaces you have trouble coloring … ribbon, dimensional flowers, metal, plastic … these can all be colored easily and beautifully if you use the Copic Airbrush system.

To start, you want to cover your surface with some scrap paper. Do not use your Nonstick Craft Mat for this one … your ink will puddle and you might pick it back up onto your project. Instead, use some scrap paper.

Screw the airbrush adapter (the part that holds the pen) onto the Copic air can. These come in two sizes, so you can get as much, or as little, air as you want.

Insert the chisel end of the Copic Sketch Marker until it clicks into the airbrush adapter with the longest part of the tip at the top.

Ready, aim (the ink comes from the top of the marker), press the button on the adapter. The harder you press, the more ink will come out. Hold it relatively close to your object for solid ink … hold it back farther for a splatter of ink.

Even if you have yet to take advantage of the Copic craze, you can buy the adapter, can of air and a couple of colors to transform buttons, metal, flowers, ribbons and more. Copic offers 358 colors, so there is bound to be the perfect shade to match your project. And, think of all of the money (and storage space) you will save when you only buy white or cream flowers, buttons, ribbons, etc. and color them yourself.

I’m bringing the rosette ribbon, metal hardware and several different colors of Copics to Capture-A-Memory today. I’ll be there from 2-7 p.m. so you can try it for yourself and then take home what you have colored to add to a card, scrapbook page or altered art. Hope to see you there!

The Butterfly Garden

When we visited the Butterfly House at the Detroit Zoo, we got some amazing photos of the butterflies and the foliage they live in. I wanted to pick up the bright colors in the photos on my scrapbook page, but I didn’t want it to look like a child’s birthday party with primary-colored cardstock. So, I used Copic Sketch Markers to airbrush a design that was as elegant as the butterflies and I added homemade 3-D butterflies as an accent. Here’s what I came up with:

 Click on the images for a larger view.

SUPPLIES:

Cardstock: American Crafts (white textured & Black), DCWV (orange), Paper Accents (white smooth)

Copic Sketch Markers: G14, YR18, N9, Y35, colorless blender & Multiliner

Copic Airbrush System

Letters, stamp: Tim Holtz

Corner Rounder: Creative Memories

Thread: We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy system

Punch: EK Success

Mini Glue Dots

Other: Brads

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Airbrush butterfly flight path on cardstock.

2. On a smooth sheet of cardstock, airbrush with multiple colors then spritz with Colorless Blending Solution and let dry. (The Colorless Blender gives a pitted design where it lands on the airbrushed paper)

3. Cut into strips and round the edges with a corner rounder.

4. Adhere to page and then use Sew Easy to stitch edge.

5. Add letters for title.

6. Crop photos & use punch to crop small pictures

7. Mat large photo with black and then orange. Use N9 Copic Marker to edge orange mat.

8. Adhere photos to page as shown.

9. Add journaling block and brads.

10. Stamp butterflies, cut out (cut off antennae) and airbrush.

11.  Use a Mini Glue Dot to attach just the center of the butterfly to the page. Ink just the antennae portion of the stamp and stamp them on each butterfly. Then, bend the wings slightly to create a 3-D image.

Back to scrapbooking

Somehow the days just flew by … I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I last posted.

But, I assure you, I have not been idle.

Like you, I am sure, I have been scouring the net for new products to be released at CHA. I am using Pinterest to keep track of my wish list. There are so many great new products … in addition to pretty papers, there are awesome new stamps and dies from Tim Holtz, Art Parts and stamps from Wendy Vecchi, Liquid Pearls from Ranger and much, much more.

I have also been working on some projects for an upcoming technique-based plan in the works. I can’t tell you all just yet, but I will probably have an announcement in early February.

Of course, I have also been crafting. This is a page I challenged myself to do …

This style — with a small grouping in the middle and a lot of white space — is a popular trend. Personally, I have trouble leaving so much white space. I figure if it’s not needed for journaling, you should add an additional photo or make the pictures bigger. So, following this style was difficult for me, but I think I managed to pull it off …

I used the Martha Stewart Around the Page punches to create the border. The patterned papers are from Memory Box. The green flowers are from Prima. The others are from Bo Bunny and the leaves are from Petaloo. I used Copic to airbrush the large blue flower and the green leaves. Then, I added a few gems and brads from my stash and some chipboard letters from Maya Road, stamped with a Wendy Vecchi background stamp, colored with Distress Stain and then highlighted with Distress Ink.

What do you think?

A New Toy For Christmas

Merry early Christmas to me! Santa Matthew bought me an air compressor!

Now, some of you may wonder why I would be excited about receiving such a “guy” gift. And, I will admit that it looks a little odd sitting on my crafting table. But the compressor, when combined with Copic Sketch Markers, opens up a whole new crafting world for me. In fact, this card is the first thing I have made using my new toy …

This card features paper from DCWV, a stamp from Magnolia, a metal die from Cheery Lynn Designs, and, of course, Copic markers in the following colors:

I stamped the image on X-Press It! paper and colored it in as usual.

Then, I took another sheet of X-Press It! and ran it through my Big Shot with a metal die. However, rather than use the part of the die I cut out, I used the leftover portion of paper, which I then used my new air compressor to airbrush with both colors of olive used in the card. I applied several coats and I love the look and the sheen it gives off.

I added a few brads from my stash, but the card just didn’t feel “done.”

So, I pulled out my atyouSpica clear pen and added a bit of glitter to Tilda’s dress, ribbon and balloon.

You may have to click on the image to see all of the glitter, but I think it just makes the card.

Happy holidays to you all!