The craze is on….and I’m on board! To help me color better, I’ve got a free download later in this post to help your Zig Clean Color Pens become a little easier to work with…so read on!
Artists’ Coloring Books (also Colouring Books!)
You just might have noticed that adults are getting out more of their own crayons, markers, and pencils than ever before. It’s become a “thing!” We in craftyland have always known about the therapeutic effects that relaxing with markers can have. It’s about time it caught on, right? Today I have some amazing coloring books that are from the Netherlands, thus the alternate spelling of colouring – and now they’re in stock finally at Ellen Hutson! I’ve been working to get these out to you guys, because I *know* how much you’re going to love them. Watch below or click HERE to see it in HD on YouTube.
Updates since shooting this video
I did try Copic on one page of these books. While it works, the blending is tough; it feels a little more like using a Tombow or Distress marker, it doesn’t naturally want to blend. I recommend the Zig Clean Color pens, or any watercolor; just don’t flood the page with a ton of water or you might get buckling. But small amounts of watercolor work great and the paper doesn’t warp from that. 🙂 The shapes in these books are small, though, so large floods of water aren’t an issue unless you try to do backgrounds.
I ordered the rest of the books the instant I could, and one of them, the Art Nouveau, I snagged at the LSS I was teaching at last week. So watch Periscope today for more on that coloring book – hopefully I’ll have some time during my travels home to do a quick airport scope and show you what’s done thus far on my first page in that book!
Zig Clean Color Pen Labels: Free download!
And guess what? October is around the corner – and The Daily Marker 30Day Coloring Challenge will be here before you know it! Get your pens ready with some labels!
While the markers are growing on me – their labelling is not. It’s making me a little crazy to try to squint at the tiny print, or to flip the marker around to figure out where the number is actually written. After all this time I finally sat down and made a template!
Simply download it and print onto 3M’s 3700-R labels, or Avery’s 5195 labels….or whatever equivalent your local office supply store has…you just need 2 sheets, so go in with a friend and split the cost. (I got mine at my local Office Depot. Just look on the package for the Avery/3M numbers). Then just download the PDF HERE and print away! See the video above for how I did my color swatch on the labels.
Supplies
Below are links to the supplies I’ve used for today’s project; click on the picture or wording to go directly to the item. Affiliate links may used, which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support toward the costs of running this blog! Read more.
- Still Life Bouquet Coloring Book (and see the others HERE!)
- Other coloring books from Pepin now in stock – I’ve already started on the Art Nouveau and love it!
- One more book I picked up
- Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers: 041 053 025 200 003 084 080 082
The PDF of your labels is very, very appreciated. Just an FYI for other blog readers: I printed both pages on label sheets with 10 labels per page. The sheets are a local brand, not one easily recognized. Each label is 4 inches wide by 2 inches tall. Both pages printed PERFECTLY! I am so pleased! A little work with a paper trimmer and I’ll be all set.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank YOU again,
Dawne
Thank you for the download and all your awesome videos. I have been looking for an adult coloring book with paper that will hold up to some water. Off to EH to get these. Thanks also for all your wisdom and inspiration.
Hello, Sandy! I always enjoy watching your videos and learning from your experience. I did sign up for the digital free trial. My mind goes everywhere. I love stamping, inking, sponging, digital (and then of course, enhancing, die cutting, water coloring etc. I’m a 63 yr old woman (divorced) and the sole caregiver of my 90 year-old dad, a WWII veteran. My artistic abilities keep me “sane” and I enjoy it so much. My mind just never stops.
It was relaxing just watching you color. I would like to see the Japanese design and the India postcard. Thanks for the label download and TFS
Try the Turkish designs next, also quite intricate but beautiful. I challenged myself to colour them as close to the real Turkish ceramics they are based on as possible, not an easy look to achieve.
The Botanicals are also very intricate, it took me 2 days to finish one of them, but it is now framed as a picture, I look forward to watercolour the next one.
Thank you Sandy, for the label download!! This is perfect!!
Those colors are so beautiful Sandy! Can always watch you color or paint!
Ohhh!! Thank you sooo much for the labels for the pens. I had updated my Ciao marker ends with color numbers and when I bought the set of Zig pens, I was wishing I had one for them too. But I had not got around to making my own yet.
Love the coloring books, but they are bit beyond me yet. I’ve just started making cards and find that I really do enjoy coloring with the Copic pens. As I get better at this level, then I can move on to something larger.
Again, thank you for your wonderful site and all the tips and videos!
Really lovely, Sandy. You might also like http://www.doverpublications.com “Creative Haven” coloring books. They are printed on very good quality paper and are made for more experienced coloring enthusiasts. There are so many different ones to choose from. Also, back in my day (yes, I’m an old crafter), we used plain old paste wax, like furniture wax, to seal and preserve some art and craft projects. I still do sometimes.
I just picked up the secret garden book. Can’t wait to give it a go. Would love
to see you color a page.
Love your coloring as always.
Thank you for the label download.
I find coloring very therapeutic. I think I’ll put these books on my wishlist. Your coloring is amazing.
Hello Sandy I too love these books I picked up mine at Michaels a while ago and they r fun and relaxing:)
stunning coloring!
Very talented!
Sarah is correct HOT has some very impressionable colorists books I’ve been enjoying.They work well with water to as the thickness withstands it.Thanks for sharing .
You are amazing!!!! I am waiting for my new box of Clean Color Real Brush Markers to show up from Amazon and You can bet that I am going to add these labels asap!!!! Thank you for all you do. You are truly remarkable. 🙂
ART Nouveau has always been my favorite! The postcards look intriguing as it would be a way to use the work when done, but since they are meant as practice books, larger is better. Thanks for this info!
Hi Sandy I just wanted to recommend Hot Off The Press Colorist pads, I got a Steampunk one a few weeks ago and finally plucked the courage to start colouring a couple of days ago (when I factored in the P&P, each sheet of the pag worked out at nearly £2 each! So I’ve been a bit reluctant to colour them in, in case I mess them up.) I was delighted to discover the paper was such good quality that colouring the image with Promarkers was a complete delight. I’ve never used Copics as I live in the UK and they are really expensive to buy here but I assume that as Copics and Promarkers are both alcohol markers, they’ll perform in a similar manner. I’m only a novice when it comes to colouring but I’m really pleased with how my colouring turned out. If you click on my name I think it’ll take you to my blog if you’d like to see the results yourself. Love your videos especially your Copic ones. Crafty hugs Sarah
Thanks for the download. I was having a tough time and was getting a wee bit annoyed with their system. I am a little spoiled on the Copic system of numbers and colors.
I would love for your to Periscope from your Secret Garden book please :)))
Have fun coloring and relax.
I have some friends who have taken the Clean Color marker plunge. I’ll send them over for your download. As always, thanks for everything you do to make crafting easier for everyone!
Donna