Mail Art Made Easy with Copics

Hello gorgeous Copic Oz fans, today I'm going to show you how to create a beautiful piece of mail art that's almost too pretty to send!  This is a great way to create custom envelopes and really impress your postie, plus it's a simple way to reuse some of your own art to make something new.  If you don't want to make your own, there are an amazing array of beautiful stencils and masks on the market these days and this technique is versatile enough to look amazing with most of them.

You Will Need:

• Copic markers:  Y06, BV11, B02, BG05 & RV06
• Copic Various Ink: Colorless Blender
• Copic Multi Liners: 0.3 & 0.5
• AtYou Spica: Turquoise, Clear and Pink
• Fab Scraps Stencil: Stars
• X-Press It: Blending Card and Mask It film
• Mini Mister bottle filled with Colorless Blender
• Black acrylic paint or gesso

Instructions

You can watch this being created on our YouTube channel or follow the instructions below.

Step 1: Gather some bright colour Copic markers, your favourite paper and Mask It film.
Fold card to create envelope.

Step 2: Cut a speech bubble shape out of Mask It film and adhere to envelope.

Step 3: Using an Airbrush add BV11

Step 4: Add Y06

Step 5: Then add B02

Step 6: Add RV06

Step 7: Finally add BG05 to cover any remaining white areas.

Step 8: Lay star stencil over envelope and spritz with Colorless Blender, allow to dry.

Step 9: Draw design onto Mask It film (if drawing your own design make sure to

REVERSE it so your design turns out the correct way), cut out and apply to envelope.

Paint over envelope with black gesso or acrylic paint.

Step 10: Allow paint to dry for approximately 2 minutes and then carefully remove mask.

You will notice there are a few areas that need a little smoothing or filling in.

Step 11:  Use Copic Multi Liners and Spica pens to fill in gaps, decorate and address envelope.

Once all the edges are smoothed and a little extra colour added, your unique mail art envelope is complete and will look something like this.

I'd love to see if you create any mail art with your Copic markers, please share your art on the Copic Australia Facebook page.

Back with more soon,
Kate

Lunch Notes

Hello Everyone and welcome back to another Copic Oz tutorial!  If you've been browsing around Pinterest, you may have come across handmade Lunch Notes - little messages for your kids when they open their lunch boxes (or perhaps your hubby??).  Since I have 3 kids of my own and two still in Primary School (I've been told by the High Schooler, under NO circumstances am I to slip one of these in his lunch box) that I would have a go making these myself!

I've grabbed the Sassy Succulents stamp set by Power Poppy, a Memento Ink Pad, X-press It Mask It and X-press It Blending Card.

I wanted to overlay the images and Mask It is perfect for the task!  A great way to create a mask that you can use over and over is to stamp the image you want to mask onto X-press It Blending Card, then remove the backing sheet and place the Mask It over the top.

While the Mask It is over the top, use a pair of sharp scissors to fussy cut very close to the edges.

Next stamp the same image onto another piece of Blending Card and then peel off the Mask It shape and place it over the top.

Ink up the other stamp you want to use and stamp it over the top of the Mask It covered image.

Peel off the Mask It to reveal the images.

Colour your image!  I've used a variety of colours......
Large Cactus - G12, G24, G28
Large Pot - E93, E95, E97, E99
Small Cactus - YG21, YG93, YG97
Small Pot - B00, B12, E93
Pebbles - C1, C3, YG93, E93, 0

Why not use the tips in last month's tutorial about shadows and note how the pot in front has left a cast shadow on the one behind!

 Cut the card to size and either write a message to your sweetie or use a suitable sentiment stamp.  I really like this sentiment in the Sassy Succulents set and thought it would be perfect to remind a child that they are perfect the way they are!  You could simply mat this with a piece of coloured cardstock, but if you can frame it with a pretty diecut.....why not use it!

I hope you've enjoyed today's tutorial and why not surprise those you love and leave them a little message in their lunches - I bet you'll make their day!