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Trellis Die and Inky Background

Welcome Dare 2B Artzy fans! Michelle Houghton here with a dose of D2BA inspiration! 

I went bold for my cards today! I used the Trellis die and cut several colors of cardstock, then created a couple different inky backgrounds and laid the trellis on top, as simple as that!

Here is a closer look at one of the inky backgrounds, I used Yupo paper and my Copic Various Ink refills:

Here are the two cards I finished and I have more background and Trellis’ to create more!

I love the peek of pattern and the striking nature of the die cut. I can see a whole slew of uses for this background die!

Here is a direct link to the beautiful Trellis Background Die

D55_Trellis_WEB.jpg

 

Have a Happy Colorful Day!

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Spring Rains – D2BA

Hello Dare 2B Artzy fans!  I am super ready for summer! With temperatures still starting the day at 14 “feels like 1” I am more then ready!

Before I share my latest creation make sure to check out this month’s D2BA challenge working with pastel colors. Remember there is an opportunity for a prize!

Today I have a fun card to share! I used the beautiful stamp set, April Showers. I started with my Copic markers:

And I got my image all colored up!

A couple of spots to take a closer look at, the puddle at her feet. I used the Colorless Blender blues and greens to help the look of wet ground:

Or the sky with subtle clouds crated with the Colorless Blender:

Lastly I wanted the umbrella to look clear so I used a lot of colorless blender and hints of the hair colors and sky to suggest the transparency:

Once done I used a beautiful patterned paper from D2BA to back a simple card featuring the image:

When you have a few extra minutes I have a new video up over at the Copic In The Craft Room on YouTube featuring a card I created on the D2BA last month.

Have a Happy Colorful Day!

The products I used for this card include:

April Showers Stamp

Summertime Paper Pack

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POSSIBLE New Location for Minneapolis Copic College

Some news on the Copic College front. My current Copic College in Minneapolis might be moving. I have been invited to look into shifting the event to Crafters Haven. The dates are still the same the weekend will still look the same with coloring, games, food and fun but we might be changing venues. I am checking in with the that have registered and making sure this will work for everyone.

We are only 2 and a half weeks away from the first Copic College in Ankeny, Ia and 6 and a half weeks away from Minneapolis, MN! I am putting the final touches on the manual, making fun game awards, gathering raffle prizes, ordering food and trying to make sure all the details are perfect. 

If you are interested in either event register now so you do not miss the fun! And if you have any questions shoot me a note and I will get right back to you. 

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K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Silly – Dare 2B Artzy Card Inspiration

Do you ever have one of those days, weeks, months? You know you are bogged down and yet you are wanting to be creative and maybe even need a card or two for friends? I am right there right now. My job has me creative most days, but I am longing for a few minutes to craft just for fun.

I colored with Copic on Kraft paper for today’s card, it basically does all the blending for me and is super fast so I could complete the card in minutes. I hope to have a video up in the next month to show you just how fast, but in the mean time here is a peek at the card.

I chose a group of colorful spring colors out of my Copic collection and stamped the flowers, bee and dotted flight path onto a Kraft colored card base:

Then just colored right the card base:

For this particular card I also chose to create a hand lettered sentiment but I used the ideas from the stamp set. (I really love these sentiments so normally would use one of those, it would save me even more time!)

I added a simple tie and then covered the inside of the card with fun patterned paper. Since Copic bleeds through most papers I decided I better clean up the inside a bit and that was a fast solution.

Thanks for stopping by today for a dose of inspiration. Make sure to check out the current monthly challenge at Dare 2B Artzy, it is a fun one AND easy! Pick Your Favorite Colors, then make sure that you have check off all your favorite new products from the Dare 2B Artzy store.

I would love to see you over at Copic In The Craft Room. I have some changes coming for Copic College so stay tuned for some news in the next few days.

Have a Happy Colorful Day

The stamps used for this card are: BEEutiful

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Copic College Who’s Who

As we close in on the first Copic College April 6-8 in Ankeny, IA I thought you might all like to know who your instructors will be!

I will be doing the main teaching and if you are here you might be familiar with my back ground, but if not here is a little synopsis, plus a little extra 🙂

Hi! Michelle Houghton here.  I am the wife to an amazing husband and the mother of two beautiful girls in Iowa.  I am a busy stay-at-home mom, teaching doodling and Copic classes both on-line and across the US and Canada.

Prior to motherhood, I was an art teacher and I love being able to continue sharing my art through card making and scrapbooking techniques.  I have been scrapbooking for about 20 years and coloring with Copic markers for the last 10 years.  When I first tried Copics I fell in love and have since gotten both my Certification and Intermediate Certification from Imagination International Inc., the United States distributor of Copic Markers. After about 5 years of teaching Copic classes on-line I began teaching for III as a Regional Instructor, I also ran their Copic In The Craft Room site and helped create new curriculum for their Certification Team.  

This past year III discontinued their Copic Certifications and Workshops leaving me to decide what was next. I decided that I am not ready to stop teaching this art form that I love, so I am off on my latest adventure of my own small business and Copic coloring weekends. I was given the amazing gift of being allowed to continue running Copic In The Craft Room on-line with it’s video tutorials and inspiration. And have created Copic College currently I am frantically putting the manual together and planning games, raffles, food and fun for amazing weekends.

Bottom line: I love to teach! Teaching live and on-line has been an amazing adventure!

Then I have 3 amazing instructors joining me for these weekends to make sure everyone gets the individual attention they need and want to really push your coloring skills, no matter what level you are starting at!

Next the lovely Katie Belding will be joining me in Ankeny, IA!

Hello! I have been crafting since I was in elementary school and have yet to meet a paper craft that I didn’t love!  As an elementary teacher for 15 years, I found one of my passions was to create for the classroom. When I decided to leave teaching, I discovered I could continue my creative outlet by working and teaching classes at Memory Bound, where I have now been for 10 years.  I was introduced to Copic markers about six years ago, fell in love with them and became a Copic certified instructor. Copics are definitely my go to marker when creating cards or memory keeping!

In Minneapolis, MN the wonderful Stephen Kromp will be hanging out with us!

Hello! I’m Stephen, professional dog groomer by day – card maker by night, living in Ontario, Canada. I accidentally fell into the wonderful word of card making in 2014 and I never looked back. Stamping and Copic colouring are a passion of mine and I enjoy sharing that passion with others. I’m excited to be working on the Design Teams for Stamp AnnieThing, Stamping Bella, and Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps.

Last but certainly not least my dear friend Amanda Farhang is joining us in both Anaheim, CA and Atlanta, GA in the fall.

Hi from Southern California!  My name is Amanda and I live a quiet life with my handsome hubby and our fur princess. By day, I work on mastering Microsoft Excel, and by night I play with inky things.  

For as long as I can remember I have been making and baking. I grew up surrounded by creative people. My family is made up of do-it-yourselfers, quilters and leatherworkers, bakers and flower arrangers. We have always jumped into creative opportunities feet first, and we’ve learned as we went.  The true pleasure is in making something with our own hands for those we love.

I first started coloring with copic markers in 2011 (ish?).  I saw a video on YouTube and my first reaction was: “Cool, but I’m not sure I’ll be any good at it….  Besides, they cost so much!”   And then I saw another YouTube video, and another, and another…   And almost overnight, alcohol ink markers didn’t sound like an unreasonable “hobby”. Famous last words?  Yep. That was the beginning of my obsession.

My collection of markers has slowly grown over the last few years, and I still don’t have all of them! I have taken every opportunity to play, scribble, and experiment.  I have learned by coloring in and outside of the lines! I have approached every image with the thought that “It’s just paper, and I like to color.”    90% of the time that I sit down with my markers, I have no “end project” in mind.  I color just for the enjoyment of seeing color transform a page.  If I don’t like something, no big deal, I’ll try something different next time.  Its. Just. Paper.   You could say that is my “crafty mantra”.  

If I had to offer advice to a new colorist, I would say: Play with it. Enjoy it.  It’s. Just. Paper. The more you play with your crafty tools, the more you experiment with color combinations and fun techniques, the better your final images will be.  Sometimes it will look like a hot mess before it starts to look half way decent.  Work through the ugly to get to the pretty.  It’s a process.  

I have to tell you this is a talented group! If you have not checked out the Copic College information do that next! We are going to have a blast with 20 hours of coloring, games, food, and fun!