Thursday, July 30, 2015

What is it about colouring in?

One of my sister Michele's Mindfulness pictures
This is a real "thing" at the moment! Call it mindfulness, call it relaxation, call it meditation, call it anything you like, but the message is the same: it's OK for adults to pick up colouring pens and spend hours at a time on intricate drawings.
I LOVE IT.
I have always loved sitting down next to my daughter and joining in with one of her favourite pastimes, and I've always loved adding hand-coloured images to my pages and cards. But now suddenly my sisters are texting me about this new thing, and they're both doing it! Now we have colouring books designed just for us adults, and it's become The In Thing.
Close to My Heart has many perfect stamp sets for Mindfulness, but my absolute favourite has to be this one: D1645, Botanical Backgrounds, set of 3, $33.
Have a look at this beautiful piece of artwork created with this stamp set and black paper. It's simple and wonderful.

What should I use to colour in my images?

We have a few choices.

1. The Shin Han Touch Twin Markers. These are especially easy to use, with no mess. Plus the colourless blender is fantastic for adding a little bit of white shading to give your images dimension. They also are sold singly, which means you can select the colours you know you will use the most frost, and add to your collection later. $11.50.
2. The Watercolour Pencils. These are great for adding colour and also, when you use a fine brush and water, you can easily create smooth merges between your shades. $42 a set of 24.
3. The Ink Pads themselves. That's right! Have you ever tried to use a paint brush together with your ink pad? The ink doesn't "pick up" very well straight from the pad, but if you squish the pad in the centre before opening it, you will find a messy looking ink splodge on the lid. Dip your brush in water and then this ink, and you're away. Select the colours that tone exactly with the cardstocks and papers you're using. $11.50.

Here's to Mindfulness! Adult colouring in has come out of the closet!



 

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