Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom

So, I'm a slow colour-er. To be specific, I started this page over a year ago, and only finished it recently. Colouring isn't therapeutic to me, it's painful and tiring. So why do I do it? Well, I find everything painful and tiring, and at least this is enjoyable!

Anyway, Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom is a beautiful book, though like many adult colouring books, potentially a bit overwhelming at a first glance! The book is filled with gorgeous animals filled with tiny detailed patterns. Although some pages offer a blank background which I think helps offset this.

I coloured this page using WHSmith's colouring pencils. I bought these a couple of years back, as my previous set of WHSmith pencils were getting, well, over 20 years old! To be honest, I've been quite disappointed with my new set of pencils. They are nowhere near as soft as my previous set, and the colours just aren't as rich or go down as nicely. However, they are usable when you're on a budget!

I began this page by colouring in the poppies in shades of red, with some purple and brown to add depth. I then focused on the butterflies, splitting them into pairs based on their designs, and distinguishing each pair into a male and a female by altering their colours slightly. I added in most of the greenery, then after a bit of thought decided on the round "flowers" being fircones. I think this decision really added depth to the image - I'd love to know what Millie Marotta originally intended different shapes to be! The other flowers reminded me of thrift, so I added in some peachy-yellow tones, which also reflects the yellow of the butterflies. I was quite indecisive about the final tiny flowers on long stems, but really wanted to balance the bright blue on the butterflies by mixing in some blue and purple. I think it worked out well!

Animal Kingdom is printed on both sides of the page, but after photographing it I decided to cut this colouring out to hang on the wall. I think I'll get more enjoyment from looking at it then leaving it in a book to potentially colour the other side one day!

Neutral Tones Birthday Card

An acquaintance of mine recently sold off a large amount of her craft supplies. Of course, I did what any artist would do and bought way too much stuff whilst it was available at great discounts! Included in everything I bought was a range of "masculine" card toppers and papers - think wood grain, brick work, metal sheets etc. It's all really quite lovely! And they are great for more masculine cards, when flowers don't quite cut it! For this card I paired them with some beautiful shimmery dark grey corrugated card I have in my stash, and kept with pure white to accentuate the "chalk board" lettering.