My First 30-Day Color Challenge

 

Kathy Racoosin at The Daily Marker blog is about ready for another 30 Day Coloring Challenge and I think I'm going to join in since I did so well with my paper challenge, however, that means I'm gonna have to get crackin' cause I only have five days to make up a bunch of cards, one for each day of the challenge.

 

I don't have to do anything fancy, but since I need to practice my coloring skills, this challenge is right up my alley, so to speak!  I could even go out and get one of those new adult coloring books that's so popular right now, but why do that when I have the rubber stamps and ink to make my own coloring cards. Spending 10 minutes or so coloring everyday won't be too hard.

 

Most of what I saw at Kathy's blog from previous challenges were black and white images that she colored in. Some had backgrounds that looked like she had doodled lines reminiscent of zentangle.

Here's a video on how Kathy prepares for her challenge by organizing her supplies!

Day 1:
For Kathy's "Day One" card of the 30-day-Coloring-Challenge, click here. 
 

 

Good day for cleaning the craft barn and coloring!

This doodled digi came from Stephanie Ackerman which I colored and made into a card.

I definitely can tell I need a white gel pen!  

You can't see it, but I used a silver & tangerine gel pen to give it a little shine.

 And while I was at it, I made this color swatch ring for my coloring pencils.

Got the idea from Jennifer McGuire.

It was good to see what each pencil's color really was

 and I plan to use it for dark, medium, & light colors. 

(there is one brand I won't buy again, because it barely has any pigment).

~~~~~
Day 2:
Kathy's cards

I was inspired by Lindsay Weinrich's zentangle picture, however,

this is a combination of Mary Engelbreit and Stampin' Up rubber stamps

and my doodling, which I made into a card to color.

My mother was a ceramic teacher turned watercolor artist

and I remembered today as I was coloring about a painting technique

she taught me in ceramic class called crosshatching.

When you can't get a good covering of color,

go back over it in the opposite direction, which I did on the sky.

Today I worked some more on the colored pencil swatch strips

and discovered I had a white pencil, so that's the "stitches" on the black cardstock around the edge. Today was a good day for crock-pot cooking, so hubby had sloppy Joes for supper.

~~~~~

Day 3:

Kathy's cards

 [Today: Errand Day & Calling on Besties Day]

 

Dollar Tree had this cute care bear coloring book that hubby bought for me. . .

After explaining about the coloring challenge to our friends,

I went to work on one of the pages. . .

A reminder of good times!

~~~~~

Day 4:

Cards by Kathy 

 

Before Sunday School, Hubbin went to emergency room in excruciating pain;

yep, a kidney stone!

~~~~~

Day 5:

Dedicated to the memory of my friend, Linda!

 ~~~~~

Day 6:

Kathy's Day 6 Card

 

Hubbin was released from the hospital today 

and immediately he made a beeline for his own bed!

 

As I've been coloring with my dry colored pencils,

I've been watching how I stroke the pencil line.

It's kinda like coloring with wax crayons, but lighter,

so if I want a smooth layer of color, I have to go over it at least three times.

With the bear tonight, first I put on a light blue, then hit the shadows with a darker blue

like I've seen in several copic marker videos that I've been watching on Youtube.

Then I went back over it in the opposite direction (cross-hatch) with the same light blue.

Since the bear is the focal point on this page, I went around it

with a halo of silver grey pencil to pop it from the page

and then used pencil strokes to radiate outwards from him.

Yesterdays bear got a doodled black fine line sharpie pen "scalloped" frame.

If you click on the photos, you can see the strokes better.

The Colored Pencil Artist's Drawing Bible. By Jane Strother. Chartwell, NY, 2012.

I dug this out of my stash of craft books to read.

It has techniques for both dry and wet coloring pencils.

~~~~~

Day 7:

Kathy's Day 7 Wheelbarrow

 

Found this idea on one of my Pinterest boards.

Chrissie Grace called it "Kaleidoscope Painting" as she did it with acrylic paint

 (jar lid circles) & watercolors,

however, it reminded me of the colorblock background technique.

Guess that's why it interested me.

I traced around a juice can lid with a sharpie marker on a clipboard "table",

then colored it in with my colored pencils,

crosshatching about 3 coats of color on each space.

Since the sharpie lines looked faded, after all that,

I went back over the lines with the sharpie freehand.

I think this would make a great pocket letter

as it is on copyweight paper.

~~~~~

Day 8:

 

Next Sunday, Oct. 11 is

ATC Club meeting. Theme is : "Circus"

and rather than doubling up on projects, I thought I would include it

in the 30-Day Coloring Challenge. I usually make a dozen cards

and wanted to make the scrapbook paper

starburst technique that's all the rage right now,

but that doesn't include coloring, so. . .

And since I don't do dot placement well, I used a piece of sequin waste

as a stencil to draw in the dots, however, I discovered I

needed a really sharp coloring pencil to color round the tiny circles - *smile*

I found a couple of videos on Youtube for coloring with pencils --

one with Shari Carroll (flower)and the other Jackie Jones (pumpkins). 

~~~~~

Day 9:

Kathy's Pretty Card

 

Car quit. If I had only known that I would be sitting on a highway exit ramp,

Wal-Mart parking lot and at a garage for several hours this afternoon,

I would have taken my craft bag with me.

 

This Mary Engelbreit jester rubber stamp will be fussy cut

and added to Day 8's background as a circus clown.

~~~~~

Day 10:

Kathy's Pretty Watercolored Card

 

Finished ATCs.

It's as circus-y as it's going to get.

~~~~~

See my 2nd ten days of coloring projects during this 30-Day Coloring Challenge.