A Very Copic Christmas

Hi Kate here and this month I'll be showing you two very quick and simple Christmas projects that you can complete in under 30 minutes - yes that's both in under 30 mins with the help of a Copic ABS (Air Brush System).

The first project is some Copic decorated wrapping paper, this is a wonderful way to re-use the brown or plain paper that you receive during the year, wrapped around other items.  The same technique will work on paper, tissue and even cellophane - so save all that wrapping and create your own Copic coloured decorator papers.

For this project you will need:

• Copic Sketch Markers in coordinating colours (I used: B79, RV66  & BG57)
• Copic Air Brush System
• Stencil or template (I used a punched snowflake)
• Recycled paper, tissue or cellophane
• Length of white ribbon

Begin by laying the stencil flat onto your paper and lightly spraying on the first colour (RV66) with the airbrush.  Move the stencil around, creating as many little Raspberry snowflakes as you like.

At this point you can continue to use the snowflake with the next colour (BG57) or you can use a different shape stencil for some variation.  Add as many Jasper (Blue Green) snowflakes as you like - just remember to leave some room for the 3rd colour.

Time to add the final colour, now B79 'Iris' is one of the stronger Copic colours, so spray this lightly and I didn't add as many snowflakes of this colour to my project, so as not to overwhelm the other colours.  Once finished adding snowflakes, put your paper aside to dry - this won't take long!

Now you don't HAVE to colour the ribbon to match - I just thought it was a cute accent.  For those of you who have coloured ribbon with your Copic Markers before you will know how long this can take and how much ink is used.  Well I'm happy to report that not only does colouring ribbon with the Copic ABS use much less ink, it's also loads faster and the results are beautiful!  All I've done here is airbrush the B79 onto the ribbon, I've added more ink to one side than the other so I will get a two-toned effect to the ribbon when I tie it.

And here is my Copic decorated wrapping paper and ribbon, cute, customised and quick!

Things to note:

• When using small stencils like this one there will be some overspray (where the Copic ink sprays over the edge of the stencil onto your project), if you really don't want this, protect your project with scrap paper as you spray.  I didn't as I like the extra patterns it adds to the final piece.

For my second project I'm creating something slightly fancier - a stunning custom Christmas bauble. This really isn't as difficult as you may think - just don't drop it!

For this project you will need:

• Copic Sketch Markers in coordinating colours (I used: B79, RV66  & BG57)
• Copic Air Brush System
• Snowflake Die
• Mask It - masking film
• Clear glass or plastic bauble
• X-Press It Clear Gel Glue
• Silver Glitter
• Sticky tape and tissues

Begin by using your favourite die cutting system to cut some snowflakes from a sheet of Mask It film - this film has a sticky layer on one side making it a removable adhesive.  Today we won't be using the die cut shape, but rather the surrounds!   I cut 3 negative shapes to use - you may like to use more.

Remove the backing layer from the Mask it shapes and adhere the sticky negative shapes onto the bauble, you may need to cut them in 2 to fit onto the rounded surface - I also overlapped the pieces a little.  I then used sticky tape to attach some tissues to protect the rest of the bauble and keep it from being coloured.  Using my airbrush I have added a layer of BG57 as a base colour.

With the mask still in place add some of the RV66 - don't colour the whole thing, just add this to a few edges and maybe a little in the centre - remembering to leave space to add the 3rd and final colour.

Go ahead and add the last colour, I'm using a particularly dark colour B79 so am adding only a little!

Remove the tissue and repeat this whole colouring process, around the bauble until all of your die cut shapes have been coloured.

Remove the tissue and the Mask It and your project now looks something like this.  You might choose to leave it like this is you don't like glitter.

For my final step I have dribbled X-Press It Clear Gel Glue around the top of the bauble and let it drip down the sides a little - now this is very thick and needs some encouragement to drip.

While glue is still wet shake your favourite colour of glitter over the top and then hang somewhere safe and leave overnight to dry.  Once dry brush off any excess glitter and it's ready to use.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas (just a little early) and a wonderful new year...

Kate 

Santa is Coming!

Only 42 sleeps to go until Christmas!!  For many of us that is a frightening statement, so it's time to kick those creative genes into gear and get our Christmas cards made and posted so we aren't madly doing them at the last minute!!

Today I've used a fun set by Flourishes called Sweets of the Season because I just adore these sweet candy canes!  They are such a good size and perfect for cards, ornaments or even decorating little gift boxes!

Start by stamping your canes in Memento Tuxedo Black onto X-press It Blending Card and lay down a base of R32 on every second stripe on the canes.

 To give your canes a curved appearance, add shading to each side of the stripe with just a touch of R35.

I'm not blending as I go this time because red can be tricky to use and it won't bleed outside the lines if you allow your paper to dry a little in between layers of colour.  Deepen your shading with R37.

Now the canes are starting to have a curved look!  Blend with R35 and R32.  You don't need to blend a lot and often just a dot of colour will work well with the X-press It Blending Card.

 

The canes are looking good, however I like lots of contrast so I'm deepening that shading even more with R39.

Now lets get started on the holly!  Lay down a base of G20 and add shading with G21 and G24.

Deepen along the veins with G28.

Lightly blend with the next lightest colours from above!

For the holly I've used a different pair of reds - R24 and then a dot of R29 for the shading.  You certainly don't need much in such a small area.

For the bow I've chosen golden yellow, starting with Y21 - one of my favourite, most used colours!

Next I've shaded with Y26, under the loops of the bow, under the holly and where the ribbon twists are always going to be darker.

Deepen with Y28.

Now I'm quite happy with the way this is looking, however I've decided that although the red parts of the candy cane look beautifully curved, the white isn't so I've used a little C1 on each side of the canes just to add a little shading.

And there you have it!  Fun and beautifully coloured candy canes just waiting to adorn your project!  I've made a card, what projects could you make with these candy canes??  :)

Hope you've enjoyed today's tutorial, thanks for visiting!