Happy New Year’s Eve! Can you believe we are finally saying goodbye to 2020?? This holiday month has been a busy one at my house. With lots of cooking, baking, present-wrapping, and nightly Christmas movies to watch with the family, I couldn’t find time to craft! I finally snuck away for an early morning coloring session, and picked Colorado Craft Company’s Party Time stamp set for my project. I LOVE their Anita Jeram line of stamps. Anita’s illustrations are so whimsical! And let me tell you, these mice were so fun to color! I have a few tips to share with you, details on a giveaway, and a free shipping code for Colorado Craft Company. Let’s get started!

I stamped the large stamp with Milk Chocolate ink onto X-Press It Blending Card, my go-to paper for Copic Markers. I can not recommend this paper enough! It’s silky smooth surface works perfectly to blend colors together. And talking about colors, I admit it… I used a lot! I just went into a zone, and started pulling out markers! Before I got into the main coloring, I started with a background shadow.

I like to do shadows by starting with my lightest color, and drawing a wide line. I let the ink dry, then follow the lines with a darker color, drawing a thinner line. I let the ink dry again, and do one last line with the darkest color. (C0, C01, C03 markers used.) Letting the ink dry makes defined lines. This gives the paper a fun 3-tier shadow, a look I love.

Moving on to the main coloring, I did the complete opposite. I started with my darkest color first, and worked my way to the lightest. So on the mice, I started with E04 around the darkest areas on the left side. I blended it out a bit with E13, then E11, and E21, coloring towards the right side of the mice. For the lightest areas I used E51, and colored in the opposite direction. I started on the right edge, and colored towards the darker colors, pushing the E21 ink away.

My most used Copic Markers are E04 (my favorite!) and Colorless Blender (0). They are with me for every coloring session. Colorless Blender has many uses, including pushing color away for a textured look. I did this with the cake and Bloody Mary. I colored them first, and let the ink dry. (Very important to do, or you will have a big bleeding mess!) Once dry, I dotted the cake and drink with the Colorless Blender, gave the paper time to dry, and did it again. This is a great way to break up a smooth blend.

Once I finished with the markers, I went back with a few sharp pencils. I always finish my Copic coloring with pencils. The second picture in the above collage is after pencils. Can you see a difference? I mainly used Indigo Blue to darken the shadows, using a sharp tip to get into the tight corners. I finished up with highlights, using a white gel pen.

The stamp set has a coordinating die set, which I used to die-cut the images and sentiment. The ink-blended background was made with the following Distress Oxide inks: Hickory Smoke, Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry, and Dusty Concord. I splattered a bit of white paint over the panel, let it dry, and attached it to a card base with foam adhesive. I used thin foam squares to add the mice.

Giveaway Time!

Leave a comment down below, and on the 3C Instagram page for a chance to win Party Time stamp set and Dies. Winner will be picked Tuesday, January 2.

Free Shipping!

Use discount code FREESHIPPINGAC to receive free USA shipping in the 3C shop! ($5.99 Shipping credit for International shipping.)

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope I was able to pass along some coloring tips and ideas. Have a fun and safe New Year’s, and I will see you back here soon… Happy Crafting!