Time has flown by since I last posted, or been creative - my sister came to visit and then I decided to jump on the copic wagon. I have long admired the beautiful look that so many talented people attain with copics, but when I tried them a few years ago I wasn't impressed with my efforts. The cost - and the time needed to spend learning how to use these markers - did not appeal to me. I was reintroduced to copics in Joanne Sharpe's online letter course and really appreciated how the ink flowed onto the page. I picked up a few at WhimSoDoodle on our last trip to Stamp Fest. I did LOTS of online research on suggested colors for a starter set, then I ordered a bunch from Dick Blick - they had an awesome sale. I am using a storage idea that I saw somewhere online; it is an old Sizzix die holder that I had in storage at school (yes, I have a serious hoarder problem that often pays off). I viewed MANY you-tube videos, bought and read the "Copic Coloring Guide", and took a card class in Jax from Susan to learned how to blend. My markers came in on the day I stayed home from work - it's my first real sick day in years. 
I practiced blending by making swatch tags (Holtz tag die) showing blending combinations from my markers. I decided that I wanted to identify my markers so I could more easily keep track of them when I bring them to classes and share them with friends so I cut thin strips of adhesive backed vinyl and wrapped it around the brush end of each marker. I know the markers already have a gray band, but the bright yellow band has the additional advantage of making it much easier to identify the brush end. 
This weekend I am finally starting to feel more like myself. I needed to make more rewards for my students at school so I decided to also practice coloring House Mice with copics. The design for the two pocket treat holders was made with 6" squares of two-sided paper. I will just slip in a treat behind the mouse and write a brief note for the back pocket.
I am very pleased by how the mice turned out. Here are the markers that I used.
Here are some closeups of the sweet mice.
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