Daily Archives: March 29, 2017

Another great mystery in a fun and informative series

Tightening the Threads (A Mainely Needlepoint Mystery)

By: Lea Wait

Rating: 5 of 5

tighteningthethreadsAngie Curtis is back as “sleuth” in a mystery set in Maine. Angie is running the Mainely Needlepoint group but this time the story is less involved with needlework and more involved with paintings.

Sarah Byrnes is the local antique dealer and Angie’s best friend. Sarah has moved from Australia and has spent the last few years tracking down what might be left of her family after disturbing information about her father’s move, as a child, from England to Australia. She’s found a local man, Ted Lawrence, who is her uncle and who is thrilled to find her as well. His children are definitely less than thrilled as it makes a huge difference in their inheritance.

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24 Grayscale Designs based on The Twelve Dancing Princeses plus bonus pages printed one side of the page

The Twelve Dancing Princesses: Grayscale Adult Coloring Book (Beautiful Fairy Tales) (Volume 1)

By: Ruth Sanderson

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a really lovely grayscale coloring book which is based on the illustrations in Ruth Sanderson’s version of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Having seen how beautiful the designs are, I plan on purchasing the story book as well. I will probably use my own color schemes for the coloring book but it will be nice to see the illustrations in their original form. I’m hoping that Ms. Sanderson will be coming out with coloring books (line drawings and grayscale) based on the other story books she has illustrated.

Please note, there is a slight moire pattern in the silent, full book flip-through and the photo samples I will upload. It is not present on the actual designs but rather a by-product of filming and how the images were converted to grayscale.
The designs are extremely detailed and have small and intricate spots to color. Prefacing the coloring book, Ms. Sanderson has given some excellent suggestions for colors and types of pencils to use while coloring in this book.
There are 24 designs in this book and, what is very interesting, is that there are 12 bonus designs (similar to the others.) These were the designs the artist used to test out grayscale techniques. I think it is wonderful she provided those to us to test and try rather than to discard them from the final book.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
24 Grayscale designs plus 12 bonus (experimental) designs based on the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality used by CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not extend into the binding area. The designs have a framing line at the outer edges
Glue Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.
Water-based markers bleed through in spots.
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you apply heavily or multiple coats.
Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick; however, some of the darker areas of the designs had a tendency to smear using this type of blender. I found that liquid forms (Gamsol or mineral spirits) did a better job. This doesn’t bother me as I generally do not use a blender on grayscale designs. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils (like Verithins) leave dents through the paper.
I like to use a blotter when working in the book. I use a page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper under my working page. It keeps seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.

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47 Cute and Funny Darth Vader and Family line drawn designs from book series printed one side of the page

Darth Vader and Family Coloring Book

By: Jeffrey Brown

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a great coloring book filled with cute designs featuring Darth Vader and his kids. Leia and Luke are shown as children and even teens in humorous depictions with their Dad. I love the hand-drawn look and feel to all of the illustrations.

It appears (for this book series at least) that Darth Vader has turned away from the dark side of the force and is trying his best to be a great dad. One of my favorite illustrations is Darth telling Luke to use the fork while they are eating. I’ve been there and done that, so I could relate one hundred percent.
There are 47 illustrations (including the preface page.) The designs have a really nice level of detail but aren’t overly intricate. The book is in a smaller square format at 8.5 x 8.5 inches. I really appreciate that Mr. Brown included a very short tutorial at the beginning of the book on how to drawn Darth Vader’s head.
This is what I experienced in coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper.
47 line drawing designs based on Darth Vader and Family book series by Jeffrey Brown (includes 9 new illustrations)
Designs are printed on one side of the page with cute wallpaper style design on the back of the page
Paper is medium weight, white, slightly smooth to the touch and non-perforated
Sewn Binding
Designs do not merge into the binding area and (except for the preface page) have framing lines at the outer edges
Book easily opens to a flat position for coloring by creasing/breaking the spine
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper easily. If I use this style of marker, I also make sure to use a blotter under my working page. I like card stock but a couple of sheets of heavyweight paper works well, too.
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens leave indistinct shadows on the back of the page. Some gel pens require slightly more drying time than usual.
Colored pencils work well with the paper. While it is slightly smooth to the touch, it still has just enough tooth to it that I got fairly good pigment coverage from both oil and wax based pencils. I was able to layer the same and multiple colors well and could blend easily using a pencil style blending stick.

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