Monthly Coloring Series - January 2020

Welcome to the January project for the 2019 - 2020 Coloring Series! To read the introduction post for this series, click HERE. To see all the coloring series projects, click HERE. 

I went with an icy color palette this month! I love blue and white together! It looks so cold and winter-like! (This is the closest to cold and snowy we get here at the southern California coast.)

My card is roughly 6" x 5, not too big, but not exactly note card size either!

The image I chose if from the digital set Get Wool Soon. I printed the image onto white cardstock (Hammermill 100# Digital Color Copy) at approximately 4 3/4" tall. 

I used a sentiment from the Chickadee in Barberry digital set. I originally planned to hand-stamp my sentiment, but in the end I felt that searching for a sentiment in my stamp stash was too exhausting!

I colored the image with Copics, with a bit of colored pencil to add some shadows. I actually used my NEW Arteza colored pencils this month! (I am so sorry but I forgot to write down any of the colors of markers or pencils! I was rushing to finish this just before Christmas, and....wha wha wha....brain freeze!)

I made a card from gray cardstock, then matted the image with dark blue cardstock. I added a few enamel dots and a bit of glitter pen to the steam. Easy peasy!

Thanks for stopping by. I want to wish you all a Happy New Year! I hope to see you here often in 2020! 

A few notes about the Arteza pencils: I purchased these just after Thanksgiving due to the wonderful price. They had a huge sale just after Christmas so I purchased a second "back up" set! (You can find these on Amazon, but I purchased from the company for the best price. Shop around!) You may wonder why I "needed" these since I already have the 150 Prisma set - and a 120 Crayola set, and a 72 Marco Raffine set, and a 12 Irojiten set. I just felt that I had some holes in my colors, especially in regard to red, blue, and green. Not buying that story....oh well. 

The pencils are beautiful pencils that feel great in my hand. I really like the dipped ends! And the color is written on the side of the pencil. So far, I love working with them! But....currently this brand of pencils are not sold individually (open stock) the way Prismacolor pencils are. That means if you grind one down, you cannot replace just one pencil. However, when I emailed the company, they told me if that happens they are happy to "give me a coupon." I really hope the company caves to pressure and begins to offer open stock! That is one of two downsides I have found after using these pencils for a few months. 

On the whole, I am really impressed with the quality of these pencils. They are not quite as soft as the Prismacolors, but they hold a sharp point for a long time. They are easy to sharpen without breakage (so far). The color goes down well, and I can do some layers, even on smooth paper. The colors are very pigmented and quite vibrant! I find myself reaching for them more often than for my Prismas!

That leads to the only other downside. The Arteza don't have many pale colors in the set. Even the lighter colors are quite bright. But, when I pair them with my Prismacolors, I have a lovely array of colors! Since I find the Prismas to have a lot of "earthy" and light tones, these vibrant Arteza pencils are a wonderful addition to my stash! The two brands play very well together, which is another plus! Since the Arteza blend extremely well, I find that I can use the two brands together quite easily!

I will be sharing more work with these pretty pencils, so stay tuned!

Digital images: Power Poppy Get Wool Soon, Chickadee in Barberry
Cardstock: Hammermill 100# Digital Color Copy; CutCardStock Sea Salt, WorldWin Flag Blue
Copic markers: assorted
Arteza color pencils: assorted
Glitter pen: Sakura
Enamel dots: various
Adhesive: ATG tape