Most of the schools are back...

...and Autumn term is underway.

For some kids it takes them a while to get back into the swing of school and homework after the six week Summer break. So why not give them a hand with a journal that they can note down their homework assignments or their reading lists.

Over at Nicecrane Designs, Ignacio has some fabulous new images and amongst them are these...

...aren't they adorable. You can find "Reading Kids" here.

So with 'back to school' in mind, I had a play with some of these images to see what they looked like.

Colouring onto smooth white CS with alcohol pens gives quite a vibrant effect...

 ...the colours just pop off the page. However, just look at the difference on kraft card...

...I used exactly the same range of colours but see how different the image looks. Much softer and the colours seem more muted.
Here again, change of image but this little chap is coloured on kraft card...

 ...quite a soft, worn look. Whereas, this next little chap...

 ...looks so much brighter on a white CS background. Both images were coloured with exactly the same pen shades but you would be forgiven if you thought otherwise.

This is something that you should keep in mind when colouring. The colour of your background will have a big effect on how your colouring turns out and this is one of the reasons that I print a blank colour chart onto the CS that I normally use so that it gives me a good idea how a shade will look.

For the journal, I used an A5 hardback note book and covered it with a sheet of PP from the DoCrafts Sew Lovely paper stack...

...I thought the paper covered with ruler images was just right. Rather than cut into two sheets of 12x12, I cut one sheet down the middle and covered from the open edge of each cover.
This left the spine of the book bare so I used some abstract washi tape (made by Scotch)...

 ...the washi tape gives a more flexible spine than paper. The image was die-cut using the largest of my Spellbinder scalloped ovals and I 'scruffy' inked around the edge - don't be afraid of lines and patches when inking, sometimes they can be just the effect that works.
A couple of 'fishtail' banners down the front...

...and some black adhesive lettering - one journal good to go.

If you tend to stick with white CS for your colouring, do try different coloured backgrounds. You will be able to create a lot of different looks.

There are lots of super new images available over on the Nicecrane Design website and if you want some inspiration, do hop over to the blog and see what the DT have been up to.................................