Copic and Paper Piecing Tutorial - Graphic 45

If you are looking for the "All Things Altered Blog Hop" scroll down. I will draw a prize winner on Tuesday, March 27th!

Happy Monday! I've been down with some sort of bug for the past few days. I woke up on Friday with the worst migraine, along with nausea and "intestinal distress." I was better by Sunday, but still not 100% Not cool, dude, not cool.

Anyway, I did not get to work on any projects over the weekend, which was a bummer! However, here is a tutorial I made a few weeks ago. Graphic 45 is sharing it on their blog today. (Only four more days until G45 announces the NEW 2012 Design Team!!!)

I love stamping and coloring with Copic Markers. I got hooked on the markers two years ago, and have been "full steam ahead" ever since! I also really enjoy paper piecing, but had not tried it with Graphic 45 stamps. WHAT?! I really wanted to give it a whirl! The issue is that G45 stamps have very small and detailed areas. This makes the images harder to paper piece, especially if you have to wear reading glasses!

For those of you who don't know what "paper piecing" is, it means to add more interest (and fun!) to a stamped image, by covering selected areas with patterned paper. The Graphic 45 8x8 paper pads contain small-scale prints which are perfect for paper piecing. I used the Little Darlings 8x8 pad.

Trim white cardstock and three pieces of patterned paper to approximately 4 x 4 inches. Stamp your desired image onto all four sheets of paper using Decades Photogenic Antiquing Ink. (Make sure to use cardstock and ink that is made for use with alcohol markers.) I have used a stamp from An ABC Primer. We will be paper piecing the little girl's dress, the little boy's overalls, and the umbrella.

Color the main image (the one stamped on the white cardstock) with markers. You do not need to color the areas to be paper pieced. Using the markers, you may wish to add some shading to the areas you plan to trim out of the patterned paper. Graphic 45 paper takes the Copic Markers very well. Meaning the ink does not bleed or run.

You can see that I did not color the umbrella, the girl's dress, or the boy's pants on the white sheet. I did add some shading to those elements on the printed paper.

Trim the desired images from the patterned paper and glue onto the main image. I use a wet glue to make sure all the tiny bits are well attached to my main image.

I "paper pieced" the umbrella, the dress, and the pants. The rest of the image is colored in with Copic Markers. I added a bit of Distress Marker (Picket Fence) to the boy's color and cuffs, and I used a black glitter pen for his pants' button.

I used other prints from the Little Darlings 8x8 pad to create my springtime card.

I love how the printed paper gives the image more dimension and contrast. This is a great technique when you have large, open areas on a stamped image.

You can try your hand at using this technique using any of the Graphic 45 papers. Choose stamps that have large, open areas. The more detailed the stamp, the more difficult it is to "fussy cut" the printed bits. Also, choosing small prints works better than larger prints for this technique.

 Enjoy!

Supply List:
Graphic 45 Paper:
Little Darlings 8x8 Paper Pad: New Arrival, Heaven Sent, Baby Borders, Peek-A-Boo
Stamps: An ABC Primer Cling Stamps 2
Clearsnap: Colorbox Graphic 45 Decades Photogenic, Dark Cashmere Antiquing Ink
Copic: Alcohol Markers
Copic: XPress It White Cardstock
Spellbinders: Grand Calibur die cutting system; Nestabilities Standard Circles LG, Classic Scalloped Circles LG
Fiskars: Microtip scissors
Bazzill Basics: Vanilla Cardstock
The Paper Company: Ivory Cardstock
Ranger: Picket Fence Distress Marker
Sakura: Black Gelly Roll Pen
Really Reasonable Ribbon: White Organza dot Ribbon, Lemon Baker's Twine; Bow Easy Tool
Buttons Galore: Buttons
Heidi Grace: Pins
Recollections: Pearls
Scor-Pal: Scoring board and stylus
Adhesive: Scotch 3M tape runner, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L foam squares, Beacon Fabri-tac glue