A Coloring We Will Go

Hidy Ho, crafty peeps!

I just wanted to share a recent adventure that Jodi and participated in while she was here visiting. We were invited to attend the Texas Coloring Retreat--it was a weekend filled with colorists from all over the world! We got to spend an ENTIRE weekend coloring, learning, experimenting, mingling, and hanging out with some SERIOUSLY talented colorists.

The event was sponsored by   

Tiddly Inks 

 Make It Crafty 

 Little Miss Muffet Stamps. 

And, it was hosted by none other than: Christy (owner of Tiddly Inks), Zoe (owner of Make It Crafty) and Barbara (owner of Little Miss Muffet). Zoe flew in from Australia to be here!

One of the things we did for the retreat was to make ATCs to exchange. Here is the one I made. I used the Rosie the Riveter stamp from Bombshell Stamps (I added the colored pencils in Photoshop). As always, I colored the image using my trusty Prismacolor pencils.

We had SUCH a blast! Most of the ladies there were die-hard Copic gals. I was the only one there who DOESN'T use Copics. I sorta felt like a fish out of water...even though Barbara and Peggy did some coloring with pencils (I think they did that so I wouldn't feel so conspicuous).

They provided us with some fun (and frustrating) challenges throughout the weekend. We were tasked with:

• creating a stamped scene using masking film and a set of background stamps provided by Make it Crafty.
• Color an image in 10 minutes
• Color hair an "unusual" color
• Use Barbara's ECP (Extreme Color Placement) technique to create a face on a faceless stamp. (we had about 2 hours)
• Round Robin stamp event where we each chose a stamped image, colored on it for 3 minutes, then passed it to the person to our left...until the image got all the way around the room.

We also had mini tutorials scattered throughout the weekend. They were fun and VERY helpful.

 Zoe taught us how to color folds in fabrics.

 Just look at her folds! Amazing...and she was only half done.

 Barbara taught us how to make clouds, grass, and faces.

Christy gave us some tips and hints for drawing digital stamps! 

It was a fabulous time! I learned a ton of really coolio stuff that I now have to figure out how to translate into colored pencils. I have my work cut out for me.

The best part of the whole weekend was getting to spend time with Jodi and having the opportunity to meet a truly wonderful group of ladies (and gents). Here is a group photo of us all. I know what you're thinking...OMG! There were guys there! Yeah, they crashed the retreat. How could we say "No"? And not just ANY guys, I might add. Brad Pitt, Keith Urban, Ian Somerhalder, Chris Hemsworth, Vin Diesel, and Johnny Depp. Yeah, betcha didn't know they're closet colorists!