I Love to Color!

I will admit it, I am a frustrated kindergartner. I love to color. Maybe I didn't do it enough when I was a child, maybe I never had the good box of crayons (you know, the big one with the pencil sharpener). But as an adult, I have found that coloring gives me a sense of peace. OK, that sounds corny, but it's true. It's relaxing, it calms me down, it's my therapy. Stressful day at work, I come home and color. Hubby bugging me, I go color. I have been know to bring it to work to color at lunch ( the girls I work with think I am crazy). I LOVE TO COLOR.






I started out with blender pens, colored pencils, and SU ink pads. I do enjoy water coloring with my inks and watercolor brush (I admit to not doing it for a while). I have the watercolor wonder crayons, not a big fan. SU markers are good for little things, but not for all out coloring (yes I have seen Faith Hofricher's cards, but she is a master). I was looking for something else.





I started coveting Copic markers. Everyone made such pretty creations with them. I NEEDED them. I resisted for a while, then caved for my birthday last year and got a box of the Ciao. I do love them, everyone was right, blah, blah, blah.....They are the first thing I reach for to color an image, although I am still learning about the blending effects thanks to Marianne (http://www.ilikemarkers.blogspot.com/). They really are a cool product.





So the next big thing was the Koh-I-Noor Woodless colored pencils that Gina K was raving about. I watched her design team all use them, give them away in contests (I never won, boohoo), and gush about them. So I got them. I have to say I was a little skeptical since my SU pencils were never a fave. These are so different. They are more waxy? Something. They blend so great, and are very bright. They are brighter after you blend them. Huh? After? Yes! So now my coloring addiction is centered around the Koh-I-Noor pencil. My hubby laughs at me coloring away. I can't stop. I have been using baby oil to blend (it never really dries) and sealing it with hairspray or clear ep. I did get some Gamsol, but am waiting for the nifty dispenser from Gina K. to store it in. I can't wait to try it.






So the card above was colored with Koh-I-Noor pencils, blended with baby oil, and sealed with clear ep. CS is brill blue, cert celery, and black. Sentiment is Papertrey, ribbon is Target $1 spot. I didn't think the card needed much else since the flower was so pretty. I am going to make another in pinks. I have had this stamp for a while and used it once. You know why?? I couldn't color it right. Now I can ;) Have a great night!