Turning your Adult Coloring Page into a Blinged Upright Card

In today's blog I show you yet another card to make with your beautifully colored pages. This time we add a bit of bling to make it extra special, but only enough to highlight the coloring, being very careful not to hide it.

I will be using this page from a coloring magazine I have. I used Derwent Coloursoft pencils to color this design. There are numerous adult coloring books available and you are sure to find one that would appeal to you.

I found a coordinating paper to use on the inside of the card.

The first step is to fold the colored page in half. I use a ruler to make sure the fold is neat and straight.

The coordinating page that will be going inside the card is also folded double.

I use double-sided tape to stick the inside page to the colored page.

The card now creates a very pretty unity when opened.

I glue two of the smaller colored pictures into the inside of the card. These were cut out by hand after I colored them and now become very handy accents to the card.

I use the blue from Derwent's Metallic Pencils to draw a frame around the inside of the card.

The frame finishes the card neatly.

I now turn to my stash of bling embellishments. I realize that I should stick to one color to avoid the already colorful card from becoming too crazy.

I start by using spaces created by the design of the card and enhance these with the embellishments in my stash. These embellishments are attached to the card using the versatile Tombow glue.

Here is a close-up of the added embellishments. Do not add embellishments to the back of the card. It will make it virtually impossible to write your message on the inside.

I do not allow the design to restrict me though. I add a few more flowers in a suitable spot. Only then am I satisfied with the results and consider the card finished.

For more crafty ideas and great products, visit APrettyTalent.com.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
You can subscribe to this blog and receive regular updates by email by simply registering your email address at the top of the current blog.

Drawing Cute Cows

Recently I was asked for some designs for cows by someone wanting to decorate a farm themed kitchen. They had some unsightly shelves that they wanted to cover with painted fabric decorations. In today's blog I show you how to draw two cute cows, specifically with fabric painting in mind. These will look great in the traditional cattle colors as well as in any strange colors of your choice. After all, who said cows could not be pink with purple spots?

This was going to be very relaxed and informal drawing today and I used a cutting mat as surface so I could sit and draw on my lap in front of the television. I gathered some drawing paper, a soft eraser, a pencil and a sharpener. I also grabbed a cow figurine I received years ago as part of a gift. I would draw my inspiration from this cute cow.

I decided to start on the very prominent nose area. On second thought this is not the best photo and I quickly moved on to the next step. My sincere apologies.

I drew the top of the head, added the horns and then drew the ears. The face was already starting to fall into place. I added the curly fringe I wanted the cow to have as well.

I finished the top of the head with two short curved lines for the cheeks. I then drew the eyes and decided that some sexy long lashes would be quite acceptable.

I drew two semicircles under the nose to represent a wide open mouth and added a thick and sturdy neck.

Looking at the cow's features at this stage, I decided that I wanted the nostrils more closely set and erased the first ones, drawing a new pair where I liked them better.

It was time to add some shoulders and forelegs.

An udder would complete the tummy of the cow.

I wanted the cow to have a substantial backside and added the rump and back legs in plush size.

I added spots, shading and a tail to the cow.

Some more detail was added to the face area with shading and development of the fringe.

All I needed to do was  to provide my cow a place to sit so she would not appear to be floating. Quick strokes with the pencil added grass and shadows. I also signed my name, although this was more to tell myself to stop fiddling now, than for any other reason.

With the first cow drawn, I decided to draw a similar cow in a different position. I had no reference for this drawing and had to adjust the picture to my own imagination and what I could recall from cows in real life. I started with the rump and hind legs.

Next, I added an udder.

The body and front legs followed next.

The neck and head was done in the same way as for the cow above.

I decided that I wanted to make the rump and udder larger and did so. I also added spots and shading to the body.

It was time to add a tail and to add shading and detail to the face. Do you think I should once again have added the open mouth? If you like it, add it to your own drawing. I am still undecided. Perhaps I should even have drawn the whole head bigger? Again, do with your own drawing what you would like best and be comfortable with. I think I might make the head bigger if I take this design to fabric someday.

All that was left to do was to ground the cow by giving her a place to stand. Some quick scratches will once again suffice to create the impression of grasses. Have fun with these drawings. I hope you'll post photos of what you've done with it. Happy drawing!

For more crafty ideas and great products, visit APrettyTalent.com.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
You can subscribe to this blog and receive regular updates by email by simply registering your email address at the top of the current blog.

Making Simple Pancakes

I went swimming with the little nieces and nephew today and we managed to work up quite an appetite in the cold water. When we got out I suggested pancakes and they jumped at it! Let me share this exceptionally quick and easy pancake recipe with you. This one has been passed down by handwritten notes for so many generations that I honestly have no idea where the recipe originated, but I guarantee its goodness.

Measure 3 cups of cake flour in a large bowl (750 ml).

Add 5 ml baking powder (1 teaspoonful).

Add a pinch of salt.

Add 2 eggs. Beat with an electric beater.

Add approximately 1 L of water and continue beating. Add enough water that the mix will run from the spoon. If it drips from the spoon, add more water.

Add oil to a pan and warm. Once the oil is warm, pour the excess oil out so the pan has as little oil as possible in the bottom. I keep a small cup of oil at the side and keep recycling the same oil from the cup. Every time a pancake is baked, I 'rinse' the pan with oil before pouring the excess back into the cup. This way the pan remains lightly smeared, but the pancakes are not oily.

Pour the batter into the pan and twirl the pan so the batter fills the bottom of the pan. A tiny amount of batter will go a long way. Guard against thick pancakes. They should be only slightly thicker than paper.

Once the sides loose from the pan, you can flip the pancake over. It only takes a few seconds (perhaps a minute?) on each side.

Flip the warm pancake onto a plate. You can add any sweet or savory filling of your choice, but the old favorite of cinnamon-sugar goes a long way when feeding a bunch of hungry young swimmers. Simply mix ground cinnamon with white sugar and sprinkle it over the pancakes.

Hook the side of the pancake with the tooth of a fork and roll it up. This will save your hands when rolling scalding hot pancakes. Let me know how much you love this simple recipe. Bon appetit!

For more crafty ideas and great products, visit APrettyTalent.com.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
You can subscribe to this blog and receive regular updates by email by simply registering your email address at the top of the current blog.

Turning your Adult Coloring Pages into beautiful Gift Boxes 2

We are still designing boxes, bags and cards from our adult coloring pages and in today's blog I show you how to make this handy and simple flat box. This is ideal for jewelry and can make a very pretty container for those handmade items that you've spent so much time creating with love.

I tore this page from a coloring book for adults and then colored it with Derwent Coloursoft Pencils. I decided that it was too pretty to leave hidden away and decided to turn it into a gift box.

I started by marking the fold line on the right at 28 cm on the cutting mat.

I now divided the 28 cm in half at the 14 cm mark.

I measured the fold lines 3 cm in from the top and bottom.

I set my compass to 10 cm radius to construct the curves.

I drew the curves at the tops and bottoms.

I positioned the center line in line with the guidelines on the cutting mat. I then positioned the compass outside the page to construct the fold lines with the compass. This is still at radius 10 cm.

This is what the pattern looks like with the curves in place.

I now set the compass to radius 1 cm.

I constructed the index curves at radius 1 cm.

I now came time to cut out the pattern.

The straight fold lines were folded over a ruler.

I used an embossing tool to score along the curved fold lines.

The flap received double-sided tape along its whole length. I stuck it on the right side as I would be tucking this flap in.

Fold the gift along the length.

Tuck in the top and bottom. This is easy if you have scored the curved fold lines. You can glue the bottom down if you prefer. I will leave mine open until I am ready to fill it.

For more crafty ideas and great products, visit APrettyTalent.com.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
You can subscribe to this blog and receive regular updates by email by simply registering your email address at the top of the current blog.