I’m participating in The 30 day colouring challenge that The Daily Marker runs over on her blog & Instagram. The challenge is pretty much what you’d expect it to be; spend a little time each day colouring in using any method you prefer, or even a combination of many.
It’s not really a challenge in the traditional way because you don’t have to colour every one of those 30 days; it’s less about quantity of time spent and more about quality of it.
Colouring can be such a therapeutic task, helping to relax you and offering a fantastic opportunity for some Mindfullness practice.
On top of the relaxation that be found when colouring each day, it is also a fantastic opportunity to practice and therefore improve your abilities. Any colouring medium is encouraged, and you don’t have to keep to one medium either! I have used a variety of different colouring mediums in the first 9 days of the challenge; I find it’s been a great excuse to explore different techniques.
I started off the challenge with a technique that I have been so intimidated by, to the point that I have avoided trying it at all until now. I got out my new watercolour palate and gave No-Line water colouring a go! I used this gorgeous little Peacock stamp from Avery Elle, stamping it in a really pale ink so that the paint I added would cover that completely.
This technique offers a much softer look than that of more traditional stamping of an image with black ink. I really like this look and I’ve watched so many Youtube videos about it (check out Kristina Werner on Youtube) but I just didn’t dare try it myself. It definitely isn’t a technique that I would describe as easy, but I don’t think it’s as impossible as I had previously believed and I’m so happy I tried it.
I wanted to make it as easy as possible for myself to keep up with this daily colouring, so I pre-stamped a variety of images, on a range of different paper types. This allows me to choose an image based upon how long I want to spend colouring and/or what supplies I feel like using.
The image here is a ‘wreath’ of feathers which I clear heat embossed onto some watercolour paper, then I just tapped a little Nuvo Shimmer Powder onto it; a quick spritz of water later and there’s an explosion of vibrant colour! Once it’s dried you just gently the buff the colour off the embossed images, because that is a slick surface and the watercolour pigments won’t penetrate it. The shimmer powder that is within the powder mix adds a gorgeous all over shine too. I love it!
I haven’t actually turned this into a card yet because I’m not actually sure what to do with it, but the important thing is that I had so much fun making it!
I’ve also stamped out multiples of the same image, on different papers, so that I can compare the huge differences you can get just by changing the techniques you use to colour it.
Here is another no line watercolour project from the first 9 days of the challenge; it was a bit more intense than that small, single Peacock image I had already done and it did take quite a while! But I haven’t been well enough to make it downstairs for a few days, so it was nice to keep me distracted for a while!
Here is the other completed image, this time I used pencil crayons and a deep black ink and it has such a different feel!
I definitely want to try this with a few more of my stamps. It is always good to find ways to stretch your supplies and get more out of them.
I used the supplies I got in this month’s Scrawlrbox to colour these beautiful Peonies; I really wanted to explore how these Copic markers work and whether there is much of a difference between these and my usual markers. So in this case, I managed to do two tasks at the same time! That always makes me feel so efficient!!
The best bit is that I won’t be able to turn every image that I colour over these 30 days into cards straight away, so I am replenishing my stock of ready made bits that I can use to make super quick cards. I’m definitely enjoying playing along with this challenge and I am looking forward to taking some more time to relax and work on my colouring skills over the next 21 days.
I am documenting my progress on my Instagram account and I’m linking each post to the challenge with #thedailymarker30day
Hey Crafty People!
Please be aware:
As part of my Design Team and Guest Design work I do often receive free products to use, but I only ever recommend products that I genuinely love.
Also, I know how incredibly lucky I am to have these opportunities, but you don’t always NEED the newest products or the ‘full set’.
So please don’t feel that you need everything.
I like to show a variety of brands and products; this way there will be something for everybody to enjoy.
— SUPPLIES —
— My Basic Supplies That I Use On Every Project —
 MINI MISTI Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Alt | SBP | Trinity |
 MISTI – Original Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Alt | SBP |
 Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: Scrapbookcom | SBP | Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 Neenah 80lb Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Alt | Craftstash UK |
 Neenah 110lb Shop at: Alt |
 Gemini Jr Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK |
 Tim Holtz Trimmer 8.5inch Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK | Trinity |
 Tim Holtz Scissors 7inch Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 Tim Holtz Mini Snips 5inch Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 Tidy Tray Shop at: Trinity |
 Pick Up Stick Shop at: Trinity |
 Reverse Action Tweezers Shop at: Scrapbookcom | SBP |
 We R Trim & Scoreboard Shop at: Scrapbookcom |
 Pressure Tool Shop at: Trinity |
 Mini Trimmer Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 9.5 inch Shears Shop at: Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 Bone Folder Shop at: Alt |
 Self Healing Mat Shop at: Alt | SBC |
*Affiliate links are used, where available; this means that I may get a small commission if you purchase using one of these links, at no extra cost at all to yourself. A huge thank you goes to anyone who does purchase using my links, it is so highly appreciated.