I have been doing a lot of colouring instead of sewing or card making lately. It is so relaxing and helps my mental health massively.
The first pictures are before Alison's wonderful videos and one to one help, and my sons first time colouring, since he was to cool to colour ( in lockdown aged 14yrs). He coloured from same stamp as my cottage. This was before any blending was happening, I was learning how to build a scene of different stamps sets and was using my old SN alcohol markers.
These next pictures are where I was starting my blending journey and watching your wonderful video tutorials by now.
These are ok, but I obviously need to do better, so not being a quitter, I stopped my sewing and card making in lockdown and just coloured and coloured; which came at a great time as I had lost my Daddykins/hero in February and then my corner shop craft store had to shut. I was often in store more days than staff in a week. lol. The store helped my mental health a lot. I made new friend's along the way which was a bonus, as the result of leaving my nursing career due to ill health caused me to loose touch with a lot of work friends, as you do, and I became quite isolated.
I'm am so glad I found your site as you are aware, for similar reasons as yourself. Your teachings are easy to understand and you are so calm that you don't get annoyed when we haven't quite picked it up, you just explain where we can improve a bit further by doing something slightly different. I now colour daily, sometimes many hours have passed by and I don't realise I'm so chilled and relaxed until hubby says its time for bed as my breathing has changed lol.
This rose is that first one you showed us how to do with a 'Colour With Me' tutorial. Me, wanting to know every stroke, had mentioned in my feedback that the only issue was it was too quick for me to keep up with and I was constantly rewinding and pausing. So you Alison, being such an Angel as you are, offered to put a video up in real time for me. And OMG amazing, I watched your every stroke with baited breath, then I would copy exactly as you had done throughout the video, till the end of it. It was great! Mind you it took me much longer than it had you. It was long after midnight when I got to bed that night but my head was still whirling around and I was like a bairn at Christmas, I just wanted to be back up and be colouring again. Yes, you guessed it, I quietly sneaked out of my bed as not to wake my old man and settled into colouring again, the same rose. I just couldn't get it right, I kept bleeding into other areas or going out of the lines! I soon asked you why this was and you explained you were also using alcohol markers so we were puzzled as to why! Then you mentioned you were using the Illustrator markers. Yes that was it, they had much smaller nibs and easier to get into small awkward areas. Mmmm, when I explained to my hubby what was wrong he just looked at me with his knowing face and said 'so when you going to get them then?' He knows me to well. lol. I now have the whole collection of them now too, but they make colouring so much more pleasurable and relaxing instead of frustrating, going out of the lines. They can still bleed though but I've learnt not to colour right up to the lines, and the brush, wow I love it, it makes the flicking motion way better than just using the bullet on the original markers. Hair looks much more realistic. Anyway I've done another 2 red ones and a yellow one now. These are a whole new level for me. Still trying to get the dew drops right but I love learning lol.
When my granddaughter was here we had a colouring day, she also coloured the elves and we turned them into tree hangings for her mam and dad. We embossed their names on them with metallic inks and embossing powders.
Santa is embossed with clear crystal glitter, for the presence of frost, and clear embossing, for the belt to give it true leather look. The background is the clingfilm technique.
On my elves I used glossy accents for the bells and a touch of embossing glitter to her shoes and her parcel just to add more depth and of course sparkle. We all need sparkle. lol.
Your brilliant instructions and visual teaching has help me loads with my mental health issues more so now I no longer have my local crafting shop. Thank you for giving me more confidence and inspiration. Alison you are truly an amazing teacher, don't give up hun.
These last few are my aqua markers pictures I've been doing and a few more Alcohol marker ones.
Thank you so much Lynda for sharing your journey so far. Your colouring is amazing and you have found your style. I'm so looking forward to seeing many more of your makes - Your Colourful Friend - Alison (Get Set Craft)
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