Quick question about Copics

I've been looking into getting some Copics & have a quick question for all you experts out there: is there a big difference in quality between the Sketch markers & Ciao? The Ciao markers are a couple dollars cheaper & they're already kinda pricey so I'd prefer to stay with those but wasn't sure if that would be a mistake.

Or, if you've only tried one type of Copic I'd really take any hints or tips you can give about using them. The tutorials are helpful but sometimes there are little quirks, ya know? I'm looking for all the help I can get! So if you're familiar with Copics I'd really love your input!! Thanks in advance :)

Passion for Promarkers Blog Hop

Check it out! The ladies at Passion for Promarkers are having a blog hop & they're giving away a full set of the new Promarkers colors!! This is the first blog hop I've ever done & I really had fun with it.

Card for a cause (& a couple of challenges too)

So, as you may have noticed I didn't get crafty yesterday. I have to say this is totally & completely my sister's fault because she talked me into going to JoAnn Fabrics with her so I could buy more craft supplies. What can I say? She knows my weakness.... Actually, I guess I should take that back - I did get crafty but I didn't have time to post about it until today.

If you read my last post, you may remember that I mentioned Erin's efforts to get lots & lots of cards for her 13-yr-old neighbor, Paige, who lost her arm as a result of a boating accident. If you missed it, please visit this post for more information. Anyway, I looked through my stamps & decided to use this cute bear - love Gruffies stamps! The lilacs he's sniffing lent themselves to the color combination of lilac/purple & grey for the Creative Inspirations challenge this week. I also used Heidi's lovely sketch from Friday Sketchers. This is the first time I've used this stamp & now that I've inked him up I'll probably be using him again soon. I 3-D'd both the image & sentiment with foamies again.

Front:

Close-up of 3-D flower & sentiment:


Close-up of image:

I inked around the edges of the sentiment - this is the first time I tried it & thought it looked pretty good - the slightly messy look of the ink is actually on purpose. You may also notice that those 3 dew drops just appeared in the last photo; it just seemed to be missing something & those seemed to complete the picture I had in my head. Hopefully it'll bring a smile to Paige's face :)

Supplies:

Paper: Sorry but I can't remember the brand of the DP - it's a loose piece that I purchased, I think it may be from Sassafras Lass; plain papers from my stash
Stamps: Gruffies Lilac Bouquet from Stampabilities, sentiment from the $1 bin at Michael's
Colored with colored pencils
Other supplies used: Dew Drops, Cuttlebug Flowers & Hearts embossing folder


Have you heard.....about the new Saturday Spotlight Hidden Potential challenge? They're still looking for DT members for those who may be interested & the 1st challenge is coming up on October 3. Help spread the word & you can be entered to win some pretty awesome blog candy!

Thank goodness for long weekends!

This has been a busy week & I haven't had the time to even think about making any cards, and the weekend's not looking good either! I'm hoping maybe I'll get around to it Sunday night as I still have another baby card to make. Now I just remembered that Monday is a holiday & I don't have to work! Yay! Ok, so maybe if I can't squeeze in a little craftiness Sunday, I've got Monday to be creative.

I did have to take a minute to mention a couple of goodies I found this week - happy browsing!

Don't forget Bev's weekly Simon Says Stamp giveaway - it's Tilda with bird cage. This is my favorite Tilda & I want it so bad I can taste it! So, although I'm giving you the link, how about staying away so I can win it?? Yeah, I figured that wouldn't work but it was worth a shot!

<<<<------Sem has a triple celebration going on & she's giving away 3 different blog candies with 3 ways to enter. Go check out her sparkly blog. Closes Sept 26.






Sue is getting close to 5000 hits & when she does, she's going to be giving away this beautiful chocolate clutch ------->>>> While you're entering, see what other pretty things she's made!

Ida is celebrating her third blogoversary with 3 candies (seems to be a popular number on this post, doesn't it?). There are 3 ways to enter this one as well. Closes Sept 24 - and Oct 1.

Helen's just gone over 15,000 hits & is celebrating her 1st blogoversary. Go see the yumminess that is Helen's candy! Closes Sept 13.

Wowsa! Julie's giving away $125+ worth of goodies to celebrate going over 100 followers! Closes Sept 18.

Check out Vikki's surprise candy - she's giving sneak peeks over the next couple of weeks! Looks good so far :) And she's adding more goodies for every 50 comments. Closes Sept 30.

Danielle is giving away a Slice Starter Set, some top secret stuff from Shimmerz, & Prima stash - 6 total people can win (one Slice, 2 Shimmerz, 3 Prima = 6 if my math is right!). Closes Sept 14.

Tara appreciates long weekends too - and she's giving candy away to prove it! There's some K & Co goodies in there! Closes Sept 6.

Caroline is going on holiday & she's so excited that she has a Tilda up for grabs on her blog. Closes Sept 16.

Finally, and most importantly, Erin is asking all of us out here in blog land to help cheer up her young neighbor who's just been involved in a serious boating accident. She's asking for us to make cards for this young lady & is offering up some candy for those who do so. Even without the candy, it's definitely a good cause! You can get all the details here in her post.

Sweet Baby card for 3 challenges

I know a couple of people who are pregnant at the moment, so I thought I'd make at least one baby card so I don't leave it till the last minute (I'm a horrible procrastinator!). This week I used the sketch from Pink Elephant challenge and - in proof of my procrastination - am getting it in by the skin of my teeth! I'm also entering this card in Stampin' for the Weekend challenge which has an "Anything Baby goes" theme this week. Cute Card Thursday's theme was "New Beginnings" & that fit just perfectly.

I've seen other people stamp the image on the paper & then stamp it again, cut it out, & pop it off the paper and I've always liked the look of it. So, I tried that on this card. It's not as cleanly done as I've seen others do but I'm pleased with it for my first try.


Front:


A little closer:


Closer still....:


3-D detail:




Supplies:

Paper: pink by Bazzil, patterned from Nana's Nursery (girl) stack, plain from my stash
Stamps: Our Craft Lounge cling rubber stamps from the "Tree-mendous Love" set
Ribbon: from my stash
Colored with colored pencils



I just wanted to take a minute to tell you about an awesome giveaway: The Scrapping Cottage Blog is trying to reach 500 followers and, when they do, they're giving away a $250 shopping spree in their store! Click here to find out more.

Check out Prima's favorite picks & the beautiful things people have made with them! I don't know if these are available where any of you are but I've never seen them in my area - that's probably a good thing as I'd have to have them & don't have the cash to spare at the moment! Click on the picture to learn more.

A card for my Grammy

My grandmother is one of the few people who regularly corresponds with me by snail mail & I "owe" her a letter. In fact, bad granddaughter that I am, I've owed her a letter for a while but wanted to send a handmade one rather than store-bought & it's taken me forever to get around to it. I know she'll appreciate the time spent on it so I'm pretty sure she'll forgive my flakiness! At least I hope so :)

The whole color scheme for this card started from the watering can/flower ribbon; it's not a color combo that I'd use all the time but I do like it. I wanted to make this card a little 3-D, so I popped the flower w/ some foamies. Now I'm wondering if I should've popped the whole image but it's glued down now - too late! Something to try next time I guess.

I've entered this card in a few challenges as well: I used the sketch from PaperPlay Challenges - by Mandy - for challenge #31. Cute Card Thursday had the theme 'Lazy Days' this week for a summer themed card. Nothing says summer like flowers & gardening! Stamptacular Sunday is a 3-D challenge; I know it's only a tiny bit of 3-D so I'm not sure if it qualifies, but I thought I'd try anyway. Finally, Crafty Cardmakers challenge for this week is Complimentary Colors - check out their color wheel lesson, it gave me some ideas for future combinations.

The orange cardstock is very lightly textured & I ran the 3 blue rectangles through my Cuttlebug in a flowered embossing folder. Image is stamped on white cardstock & colored with colored pencils. I cut out the flower & popped it with foamies for a 3-D effect. Haven't got up the nerve to try decorating the inside yet so it's completely blank.


Front


Trying to show the 3-D aspect




A close-up



Supplies used:

Papers from my stash
Stamp by Penny Black
Ribbon from the $1 bin at Michael's
Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest
...........................................................................................................
Some goodies!!!!!

Moni is celebrating the 1 yr anniversary of Everybody-Art-Challenge by giving away some stamped images, ribbons, & more. Closes Aug. 31.

Sassy Designs is giving away 100 stamped images to their followers - this is another challenge blog I just stumbled onto. Closes Sept. 27.

Carolyn has a massive assortment for her blog candy! Check out the inside of her cards - maybe she'll give me some ideas. Closes Sept. 22.

I just found Ingvild's blog the other day & had to become a follower right away - she has a romantic, victorian style that I just love. And her candy is fabulous! Closes Sept. 30.

Jo has new Basic Grey papers & more in her blog candy. Closes Sept. 5.

Maria's candy is a huge assortment of goodies including stamps, ribbons, & more. Closes Aug. 31.

Emma's celebrating her blogoversary with a beautiful array of images, embellishments, & more. Closes Aug. 31.

Erika is giving away some goodies from her stash. Check out her CHA pictures too - I'm jealous! Closes Aug. 29.

Vivi is celebrating 100 posts by giving away 100 Tilda images! I want to win this one! She does quilling - something I want to try........ Closes Aug. 30.

My first ever blog award

Wow! What a pleasant surprise to receive this friendship award from Cheryl - thank you so much! I just recently found her blog & she has some really beautiful things there. I especially like her victorian scrapbook page with the adorable pictures of her little girl. The tool belt for Dad is pretty cute too - full of sweets, now that's my kind of tool belt! Drop by & visit her blog - you'll be glad you did.

Thanks again Cheryl, you made my day!