More colouring...

...and playing with contrasts.

Where there are double pages of designs facing each other in the colouring books, I have been having some fun trying out different colour combos and different contrasts.

This page used mainly blues, greens and a touch of beige...

 ...I love the vivid tone of the new Mermaid Lagoon Distress Marker. In complete contrast...

 ...the facing page (which in this case is a mirror image) has been coloured using yellows and oranges - very different. The great thing about having the pages side-by-side is that you can compare the different colour combos.

This one is a work in progress...

...I have used pinks on the upper flower and mauves on the lower one. On this occasion, I actually went back to some shading & blending and was very pleased with the result.

So far, I have only used Distress Markers in these colouring books but in response to a question raised on an earlier post I tried some alcohol pens.

If you are wanting to colour the designs that are printed on both sides of the pages, alcohol pens are not really suitable as they do bleed through a bit - even the water-based pens will bleed through if you make the paper too wet. However, if you are not bothered about being able to use both sides of each page you can use the alcohol pens without any problem - although I would suggest that you place a piece of paper under the page to act as a bit of protection from staining another page.

If the thought of spoiling or having to choose which side you want to colour bothers you - don't worry - there are actually quite a few books available that have images only printed on one side of each page - I would still suggest some paper as protection though if you are going to use alcohol pens.

So go on...have a play and just 'chill' for a while................................................................

Finally managed...

...to get some slightly better photos.

The sun was shining Sunday morning so I dashed outside to grab a few photos before heading off to Mum's.

This is the view from the front path...

...and shows the hanging baskets on the front more clearly. A bit of a zoom in...

 ...and you can see they are well planted and blooming well. This one...

...is by the side of the front door and I was able to get a higher angle on the shot. I just love the lavender shade of the baskets and how it shows off the mauves of the flowers so well.

I'm being very good with the watering and even remembered to purchase some plant food - so fingers crossed they should provide a good show for quite some time..................................................

More colouring...

...and a new book to play with.

This book is currently on the top sellers list in WHS...

 ...it is just under A5 in size so great for sticking in your bag with a few pens or pencils.
This is the design that appears on the front cover and it is surprising how the colours in the photo look very different to how they appear in real life...

 ...I wasn't trying for anything in particular - just trying out a few blues & greens.
This was a quick design and very simple in its make up...

 ...nothing too complicated, just a bit of a play.
I suppose you would call this design "clouds" and the left-hand page is in similar colours to those that appear on the back cover of the book. As this was a double page design...

...I wanted to see how it looked in a different colour-way.

This is one of the things I love about colouring, the same image can be made to look quite different just by using a different combination of colours.

I am really enjoying this "no pressure" type colouring. Grown-up colouring play-time is a great way to switch off from the stresses of the everyday world. If the colours don't work - who cares...it's play-time. If the colours do work - you have a great reference piece for future crafting.

I did have a look in the web to see what other colouring books are 'out there' - I nearly fell off my seat when I saw some of the prices. Obviously a case of some sources thinking they can cash in on the current trend. I won't be spending that type of money when you can pick up some very nice books in your local book stores. For the moment, I think I have plenty to keep me occupied...although..............

Weekend intentions...

...never quite turn out as planned.

Last weekend was May-day Bank Holiday so many of us had an extra day away from work.

The stores were stacked with BBQ stuff the week before because the forecast was supposed to be good (perhaps a little chilly) but as usual, Mother Nature did her own thing.

Rain, Fog, Wind, Hail and some Sunshine put in an appearance in my neck of the woods at some point over the 3 days.

I finally remembered to divert to Homebase on my way home on Saturday as I have been meaning to pick up some replacement support batons for my fence. For a Bank Holiday weekend it wasn't very busy even though they had additional discounts & promotions. I spotted some ready planted hanging baskets which were only £6 each after discount so grabbed some for the front of the house.

There were also some pretty pot plants in a similar colour to the planting in the hanging baskets...

 ...these have settled in very nicely in the tubs by the front door.
The hanging baskets are in place...

...but this was the best photo I could get as it was raining at the time.

I have tried all week to get a better photo but the weather and light hasn't wanted to 'play nice' so hopefully I can try again later as things seem to be brightening up.

I remembered the batons and I did fix the fence panel but where the wood has swollen with the rain, I haven't been able to slot the panel back into the concrete posts (you should have been a fly on the wall on Bank Holiday Monday - I was up a step ladder trying to get enough 'height' to slot the panel in when a lovely lady going past offered to come and give me a hand. It didn't work. We ended in frustrated giggles and the panel is currently laying on the veranda waiting to dry out a bit more).

I think a few folk round about tried to have BBQs as you could smell them on the breeze but I would imagine most of the food was eaten indoors as the rain kept putting in an appearance.

Did you get up to anything exciting Bank Holiday weekend?..................................................

Grown-up colouring in...

...is currently all the rage here in the UK.

I don't understand why it has taken the publishing world so long to cotton-on to the fact...

Suddenly, retailers have shelves full of colouring books aimed at grown-ups and there is also a 'part-work' publication on the go at the moment promoting the fact that colouring can be very therapeutic - go figure; could have told them that yonks ago LOL

Still, I suppose it is better late than never and now grown-ups who might not otherwise craft can feel okay about buying colouring books rather than pretend they are for the kiddies.

I love colouring. I have always loved colouring and the craft world of stamps & digi images have fed this love over the years but I decided to treat myself to one of these...

 ...it is an A5 size journal type booklet full of a wide variety of designs that I can play around with. The weather is still playing up the old 'arfa-ritis' but these are images that I can block colour if I like and they are just for me.
This was the first image that I completed using my new Cracked Pistachio distress marker...

 ...I wanted to see what other shades from the range would work well as solid blocks rather than worrying about shading - I was rather pleased with the result.
I then pulled out all the browns & beiges and came up with this...

 ...now normally when I'm colouring, I would be using alcohol pens that blend smoothly but I quite liked the 'shabby', 'distressed' look that these markers have given. Yes; I know they are water-based and I could have blended everything with a water-brush but this was 'playtime' and I was rather pleased with this effect.
The great thing about colouring in like this is you can play around with colour combos. I wasn't so sure about this one...

 ...but it was great spending some 'me' time just following the lines and filling in the spaces - no pressure.
The booklet does contain a number of designs that I would not usually consider for colouring but I actually found this one to be quite useful when playing around with colour combos...

...the 3 cracked pistachio frames have different in-fills and the depth of colour really does create a different effect. The other 3 frames are all coloured with an in-fill of broken china and the actual frames are from the red range of shades - again, very different results.

So if you haven't done much colouring because you have been put off by the thought of having to stamp some images or pinching some pages from the kids colouring books - you can now get yourself some of your very own colouring books (there are themed books such as fairies, flowers, cities, Celtic etc.) and the fact that they come in A4 or A5 sizes you can pick what is most convenient for you.

For me, colouring and blending with my alcohol pens is still my passion but this type of 'no pressure, no worries' colouring is very relaxing - go on, give it a go...........................................................

Last weekend...

...was Demo Day.

On 25 April, over at Pinnacle Crafts there was a free demo day showing folk how to get the most out of their Cosmic Shimmer products from Creative Expressions.

Andy Pearson is part of the family who own 'Pinnacles' and he is also a Design Team member for Creative Expressions. As usual, it was a packed house and Andy had a few tricks up his sleeve to amaze folk.

One of the first things he showed was this demo board of die-cut sentiments...

...these were not CS coloured with various products - they were all cut from vinyl-type sheets that he had created using textured paste & glittered textured paste.
There were loads of super card samples...

 ...I love this one as the gilding wax on the clock-face really has a metal look...

 ...and the background was created using a PP of cogs but a sheet of acetate was attached over the top after having a brushing of mica powders on the reverse - really softens the effect...

 ...lots of layers on this one so not something you would want to post but the effect is fabulous.

It was a very busy day for Andy - 10am to 3pm - non-stop...

...people came and went...

...samples were passed around and there were exclamations of surprise & amazement at which products had been used on some of them.

A really fabulous day - it's always great watching other folk work LOL......................................

A very happy...

...St. George's Day.

Unfortunately, the weather doesn't seem to be wanting to celebrate...it is very chilly, dull & grey here in my neck of the woods.

But never mind...if you have celebrations planned for today - enjoy!...........................................