Good morning friends! Lately, I’ve been playing around with different techniques to extend the use of my Copic markers.  Afterall, when you have 358 markers lying around, you start looking for different ways to use them.

I love the Penny Black brush stroke stamps, but most tutorials for this stamp line rely on watercolor techniques. While I love the look of watercolor, I find the process frustrating because I can’t seem to control ink with a brush the same way that I can with a marker. So I’ve been looking for ways to use Copic markers with this line of stamps.

A few months ago, I came across this article from Marianne Walker, who is the North American Product Director for Copic Markers. She showed a method for coloring directly onto rubber stamps with Copic markers, lightly misting the stamp with colorless blender to reactivate the ink, and then stamping the inked image onto paper.  Gina Krupsky (Gina K. Designs) posted a tutorial at Splitcoaststampers for a similar method, but used rubbing alcohol instead of colorless blender.

So I decided to give it a try and today’s cards are the results of my experimentation. I used my Misti so that I could stamp multiple times if necessary to get the effect that I wanted. I used Copics to color directly onto the rubber stamp. Once the image was colored, I lightly misted my paper with colorless blender and closed the Misti to stamp the image. You need to keep the Misti closed for several seconds to allow the ink to transfer. If the image wasn’t clear enough, I lightly misted the stamp and stamped the paper a second time and this was usually sufficient to get a clear image.

I had very different results, depending upon the paper. I got the best results – or at least the results I was looking for – using Spectrum Noir’s Ultra Smooth Card Stock. This paper produced a crisp, clean image. I found that using Copic’s X-Press It Blending Card produced a looser, blurrier effect – a little more impressionistic than I wanted.

And here are the results:

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock by Spectrum Noir Stamp: Garden Gems by Penny Black Inks: Versafine by Tsukineko in Onyx Black Dies: Scalloped Rectangle Stackables by Lawn Fawn; Small Cross Stitched Rectangle Stackables by Lawn Fawn Embellishments: Water Lily Dew Drops by Honey Bee Stamps Copics: R32, R35, R39, Y03, Y17, Y67, Y35, Y38, 0

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; Mixed Media Cardstock by Ranger – Dina Wakely; Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock by Spectrum Noir Stamp: Belle by Penny Black; Spiritual Snippets by Penny Black; Indian Wheel by Penny Black. Inks: Memento by Tsukineko in Tuxedo Black; Versafine by Tsukineko in Onyx Black; Distress Oxides by Ranger in Twisted Citron, Broken China, and Fossilized Amber Die: Belle Cut Out by Penny Black; Large Rectangle Stackables by Lawn Fawn Embellishments: Water Lily Dew Drops by Honey Bee Stamps Copics: R32, R35, R39, Y03, Y17, Y67, 0

I should note a few things:

1. The background of Card 2 was created with Distress Inks and heat embossing. The technique described above was only used for the floral image.
2. There seems to be some debate whether or not alcohol can damage rubber stamps. I rinsed my thoroughly with water to remove an alcohol residue and they appear to be surviving my experimentation just fine.
3. Some people are particularly sensitive to the odor of alcohol. Be sure you are working in a well-ventilated area and follow any necessary medical precautions, particularly if you have any respiratory issues.

Want to see more? Splitcoaststampers has a whole gallery devoted to cards using this technique.

Please note: All items were personally purchased except those marked with an asterisk (*) . I never share a product I do not like. Read more.