22 | April | 2014 | Paper Cuts

Welcome to the 2014 Copic “Earth Day” Blog Hop! Earth Day, April 22, marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Over 40 years later, Earth Day has become a global event with over 200 million people in over 141 countries getting involved in the fight for a clean environment.

Did you know that Copic markers and inks are environmentally friendly?

Copic Various Inks are non-toxic, so there’s no worry about harmful chemicals getting into the environment.
Because you can refill your Copic markers when needed, you never have to throw them away!
The Copic Various Ink bottles are recyclable.

All that refilling and recycling means less garbage in landfills and less negative impact on the environment.

In celebration of Earth Day 2014, the Copic Education and Design Teams have gotten together for a hop. Visit each person’s blog to learn personal tips and tricks for refilling and caring for your markers… and possibly some pretty eye candy along the way.

I have a bright/cheery card to share using Copics and Sunshiny Day from Taylored Expressions.

Here are my tips and tricks for refill and care of Copics: 🙂

To refill Sketch markers, I remove both end caps, then gently remove the nib tip using my fingers or a paper towel. Holding the refill over the nibless end, I count approximately 30-40 drops then replace the nib.
If the nib is a bit difficult to remove, I will gently remove the tip using a Nib Tweezer.
If I’m in a hurry and need a quick re-inking, I will remove both caps then touch one drop at a time to the nib tip. I usually repeat this step 10-20 times.
To refill my Colorless Blender, I remove both caps, then remove the nib tip (as above). I insert a Refill Booster into the nib end then drip in the Colorless Blender Refill. I use the Booster with the Blender Refill because Blender Refill is thinner than the ink and I have a hard time getting the Blender Refill into the barrel without it.
To keep the barrels and caps of my markers clean, I periodically wipe each with hand sanitizer. I keep a bottle on my stamp table for quick clean-ups (marker barrels, caps, fingers, table, etc.).

Check out tips and tricks from other Copic team members following the links below:

When you’re done hopping, head on over to the Copic Blog and sign up to be entered in the Earth Week Giveaway! Five lucky winners will each receive a 3-piece Blending Trio or Color Fusion set, one Various Ink refill and a 5×7 sketchbook.

Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂

InLinkz.com

Additional supplies/info: Copic markers (RV63, RV55, RV29, Y15, YR58, YG17, G09, E31, E33, E35, C00, C1, C3), May Arts ribbon, Recollections brads. Finished size 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″.

Hi everyone! It’s time for a Creative Challenge with My Favorite Things. This month we’re jazzing up our Die-namics flowers with patterns or texture. I have two samples to share. 🙂

On my first card, I used Western Backgrounds on Plentiful Petals to give my flower a woodgrain appearance. The background was created by taping the Funky Florals stencil to Kraft card stock, then tracing all the openings with an opaque white pen.

The sentiment was die-cut from Sweet Tooth card stock using Lots of Love Die-namics, and the Black Licorice scallop was cut using Simply Scallops Medium.

Inside, I added an extra strip of the Funky Florals background and stamped a sentiment from Get Well Wishes in Black Licorice ink.

On my second card, I used Typewriter Text Background on Berrylicious flowers cut from Blueprints 14. The sentiment, from Chalkboard Greetings, was clear embossed to add some extra interest and balance to the right side of the card.