April Cross Canada Blog Hop, featuring Shin Han Twin Touch Markers

Oh Boy!  It's time to COLOR!!

  As a crafter and a stamper, sometimes these words are great- time to check out of the crazy and concentrate on getting it between the lines with just the right combination of colors- and nothing else, just you and the markers and the image that needs to be filled in.  And sometimes, those words strike fear into your heart because it's new and you haven't a clue how to 'adult color', not since you 'kid- colored'.  For this hop, I felt both- it was fun coloring my little animals and seeing which combinations I liked most- and which didn't work, either because they just didn't look good, or because I don't have the skills to make them look good- YET.
  Follow along on this Hop to see some truly FANTASTIC coloring from some ladies who really have the all the right techniques and skills.  But don't be intimidated, there's alot here who, like me, color because it's still fun - and because we don't ALWAYS have to color inside the lines.  

  The spiel- we're a circular blog hop, so you can jump in anywhere and, if you complete the Hop you'll end up right where you began.  If you get lost, goto Michelle's blog- here, for a full list of Hoppers.

  This month, we're featuring a product not made by or exclusively for CTMH but one we do carry in a limited selection  - the Shin Han Twin Touch Markers*. We carry 24 colors plus the blending marker.

On to the Hop- If you've just come from Michelle's blog, then you're in the right place.  If you want to start at the beginning (East Coast to West Coast), then start with her.

On to the coloring:

Ok, so when I start a coloring project, I start by stamping the image(s) multiple times;  this allows me to play with the color combinations.  I also pick out all the colors I might use and put a single thick mark on the same paper as what I used to stamp on- this is my 'cheat sheet'. Like the strip on the left.

While I'm coloring, I keep track of my color combos on a separate paper- as above right.  It just makes it easier to recreate the look if I ever want to.  So, using the Spring Critters (C1638) Thin Cuts bundle (stamp + dies/ retired), I end up with this-

 The most basic technique I use is that I go from light to dark.  I start with my lightest color/ shade and color around it with the darker colors/ shades.  For the spotted frog, I gave him his spots first and then filled in his body (belly was done first, of course).  The foxes, bunnies and froggies got their noses/ ears/ cheeks done first with R28, a very light shade of rosie pink.  Believe it or not, the chickie on the left has 3 shades of yellow on him and the 1 on the right has 2 shades of yellow and 1 of orange on his body.

I'm fairly certain the bunnies and chicks will make their way onto Easter cards (late of course), but here's 1 froggie that will be on time, for a certain girl's grade 8 graduation:

 To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order.  Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is with Carol-Anne.

  Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month- May 15- when we will be featuring creations using our favorite NEW paper collection, yes that's right, we have new collections coming (Seasonal Expressions II, available May 1st). So mark May 15th on your calendars and hop along with us!

* has been edited.