New Class! Laurel Burch Holiday Cards - November 12th and 14th, 2017

Welcome back to the Queen's Inkling!

Nancy here again today to announce a new holiday card class featuring images from Laurel Burch.

I'm returning to the The Queen's Ink on Sunday, November 12th and Tuesday, November 14th to teach a holiday card featuring the Laurel Burch holiday stamps by Stampendous. In this workshop, I'll show how to heat emboss your images after Copic coloring. Details are below. Seats are limited, but there's still room in both classes for you to join us, so sign up today!

To accommodate requests, we are offering two different sessions:

Sunday, November 12, 2017, 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM 

Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
To register, call the Queen's Ink at (301) 497-9449.

BRING TO CLASS

COPIC MARKERS: The list below reflects the Copic markers that I will use in class. You can follow along using the same colors OR substitute colors based upon your personal Copic collection. You will need a blendable selection of blues, greens, yellows, reds, and dark grays. Please bring all your markers to class and make sure your Copics are marked with Washi tape or some other means of identification. Markers are available for purchase at The Queen’s Ink. Students will receive a 10% discount on Copic markers. I will be available prior to class to help with selection.

• R35: Coral 
• R46: Strong Red
• R59: Cardinal 
• YR16: Apricot 
• Y02: Canary Yellow 
• Y15: Cadmium Yellow
• Y19: Napoli Yellow 
• YG03: Yellow Green 
• YG06: Yellowish Green
• YG09: Lettuce Green
• G09: Veronese Green 
• B000: Pale Porcelain Blue
• B02: Robin’s Egg Blue
• B05: Process Blue
• B18: Lapis Lazuli
• C5*: Cool Gray No. 5
• C7*: Cool Gray No. 7 
• C9*: Cool Gray No. 9
• 100*: Black 

* NOTE: C4, C6, C8, C10 can be substituted for the Cool Grays and Black listed above.

OTHER SUPPLIES

• Tape runner adhesive or double-sided tape
• Scissors

Last Chance! Little Monsters Copic Coloring Class - Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Welcome back to the Queen's Inkling!

Nancy here on behalf of the Queen with an important announcement!

This is your last chance to join in on the fun in the Little Monsters Copic Coloring Class at the Queen's Ink. We'll make three cards featuring stamps by Paper Artsy with sentiments from Penny Black. Basic understanding of Copic shading is helpful, however I will cover all necessary techniques in class. Supply list provided below. Seats are limited, but there's still room for you to join us, so sign up today! 

Little Monster's Copic Coloring Class

Tuesday, October 24, 2017, 6:30PM – 8:30 PM 

To register, call the Queen's Ink at (301) 497-9449.

BRING TO CLASS

COPIC MARKERS. The list below reflects the Copic markers that I will use in class. You can follow along using the same colors OR substitute colors based upon your personal Copic collection. You will need a blendable selection of yellows, greens, and blues. Please bring all your markers to class and make sure your Copics are marked with Washi tape or some other means of identification. Markers are available for purchase at The Queen’s Ink. Students will receive a 10% discount on Copic markers. I will be available prior to class to help you with your selections.

• R20: Blush
• R22: Light Prawn
• Y02: Canary Yellow 
• Y15: Cadmium Yellow 
• Y19: Napoli Yellow 
• YG05: Salad 
• YG09: Lettuce Green 
• BG0000: Snow Green
• BG10: Cool Shadow
• B000: Pale Porcelain Blue
• B01: Mint Blue
• B02: Robin’s Egg Blue
• B04: Tahitian Blue 
• B06: Peacock Blue
• E000: Pale Fruit Pink 
• E00: Skin White 
• E02: Fruit Pink 
• 0: Colorless blender
• Copic Colorless Blender refill (the smaller 25cc bottle is sufficient).

OTHER SUPPLIES. Please bring the following to class:

• Uniball Gel Pen or Sakura Gel Pen in White
• Tape runner adhesive or double sided tape
• Scissors

Vintage Holiday Card by Nancy Sheads for The Queen's Ink

Welcome back to The Queen's Inkling! 

Nancy here with a new Copic coloring project featuring the
Cozy Cupfuls Clear Stamp Set by Power Poppy and
new holiday design papers from the Vintage Christmas Collection by Authentique, available at
 The Queen's Ink

I love this beautiful, elegant image by Power Poppy so I pulled out my markers and some X-Press Blending Card (also by Copic) and got to work. I'll admit that I looked at that tree and my initial urge was to color those sprigs individually. Crazy, right? So I decided that the better course of action was to dab different shades of green (YG01, YG03, G21, G24, G28) following the lines of branches and the shape of the tree to achieve some depth and variation. 

I used my current favorite red combo (R35, R46, R59) to get a lush Christmas red for the ornaments and used the same combo (adding R32 as a highlight) for the ribbon. If you forget to leave a highlight on the ornaments, you can always add it afterward with a white gel pen.

The sentiment on the front of my card is included with the Power Poppy stamp set (and look at that lovely script!), but for the inside, I decided to add one of the sentiments from the Penny Black Festive Cheer stamp set to capture the feeling I wanted for the completed card.

Here at The Queen's Ink, design papers by Authentique are a particular favorite and you'll find the store stocked with several of the new holiday collections. I used two of the designs from the Vintage Christmas Collection because I thought that the colors and the vintage feel would be the perfect complement for this image. 

Supply list is shown below. Want to see this card in person? Be sure to stop by The Queen's Ink and take a look! 

Supplies

Paper: X-Press It Blending Card by Copic; Vintage Christmas Three and Vintage Christmas Seven by Authentique
Stamps: Cozy Cupfuls by Power Poppy; Festive Cheer by Penny Black
Inks: Memento in Tuxedo Black by Tsukineko (image); Versafine in Onyx Black by Tsukineko (sentiment)
Dies: A2 Matting Basics A by Spellbinders; A2 Matting Basics B by Spellbinders
Copics: R35, R46, R59 (ornaments); R32, R35, R46, R59 (ribbon); YG01, YG03, G21, G24, G28 (tree); G21, G24, R30, R32, E41, E42, E43, C1 (teacup); BV20 (shadow)

Let Me Introduce Myself

The Queen's Ink is pleased to announce that we will be offering a series of Copic and card making classes as part of our regular monthly class offerings. We are delighted and excited to welcome Nancy Sheads (Copic Colorist extraordinaire, so sayeth the Queen!) to our teaching staff.  Nancy is a patient and easy going spirit, a wonderful teacher, very creative, and with a great eye for color. She has generously made many of the card sample we have on display in the shop. Check out our current class offerings on line and sign-up for one of her great classes. Nancy will also be contributing to our Blog regularly with Copic techniques and great card ideas. Read on and get to know more about the newest member of the Queen's Court!

Artist Nancy Sheads

Did you know that the Queen's Ink is once again offering classes in Copic coloring? Yes, it's true and since I'll be leading you on your Copic journey, let me step in here and introduce myself.

Example from Colors of Autumn Copic Class

Some of you may know me from my creative pursuits as a member of the Power Poppy Instant Gardener and the Passionate Paper Creations Design Teams. I can also be found in my corner of the Internet at Rowhouse Greetings and on Instagram.

I've been a crafter for many years - my grandmother taught me to crochet when I was five years old - and over the years I learned a variety of crafts including knitting, sewing, quilting, and needlepoint. A few years ago, I became interested in card making and fell into Copic coloring. Since that time, I've had the opportunity to study with some of the best instructors – Rhea Weigand, Jennifer Dove, Cindy Lawrence, and Debbie Olson – who have always gone out of their way to help me improve my craft.

My teaching philosophy is simple - I want you to feel confident when you color and have fun with your markers. In class, I'll walk you through the techniques you'll need in order to complete the class projects. My goal is for you to be able to incorporate the techniques and skills you learn in class in order to develop a style that is uniquely your own.

When I first started coloring, I only had a few Copic markers in my collection, primarily a variety of reds, greens, and yellows so that I could make that season's holiday cards. Over time as I started coloring other images – flowers, people, landscapes – I added to my Copic collection with the colors that I needed for the types of images that I wanted to work on.

I realize that building a collection of Copic markers can be a significant investment and where possible, I try to limit the number of markers used in class. For each class, I list the markers that I'll be using for demonstration purposes, but you should feel free to bring all of your Copic markers to class and substitute as necessary so that you can still participate. If you want to expand your collection, The Queen's Ink is fully stocked with Copic products and students receive a discount on Copic markers.

Check out the class schedule for the latest offerings and call the shop to register. My classes are full of fun, laughter, and good times! You won't want to miss out!

I'll also be blogging here at the Queen's Inkling with new projects that will hopefully give you some crafty inspiration. Upcoming projects include holiday cards featuring stamps by Power Poppy and Penny Black as well as some of the new holiday design papers by Authentique.