Johanna Basford 2017 Coloring Day-to-Day Calendar
By: Johanna Basford
Rating: 5 of 5
This is my first daily calendar set by Johanna Basford. The designs in the set are excerpted from Secret Garden Enchanted Forest and Lost Ocean. The pictures are generally cropped from the full design and have either been enlarged or made slightly smaller to fit the design area on the daily calendar page.
The designs are really fantastic given the daily concept of the calendar. Usually, with this type of calendar, designs are small and somewhat simple. These designs are really beautiful and detailed but for the most part, are not small and difficult to color. There are a couple of designs that borderline that area but for the most part, some designs have been enlarged from what they were in their respective books and are actually easier to color (though, of course, it is only a portion of the original design.)
I plan to work a few pages ahead of the calendar so I can enjoy the current day in its fully colored glory. It’s a fun way to revisit some of my old favorites but still feel like I’m having a new coloring experience. I look forward to this style of calendar again in the future from Ms. Basford.
The pages are a full 5 x 7 inches as is the beautiful keepsake box that the calendar sits in. The box is decorated in black and white with gold foil touches. The inside of the box is white print on black background and there is a black attached ribbon which can be used as a bookmark in the pages.
The design portion of the page is slightly taller than four and one half inches by four and three eighths inches wide. The rest of the page is the calendar portion. The pages are loose leaf in the box. Monday through Friday each have their own page and Saturday and Sunday share a page. There are also four color testing pages included in this box as well.
The paper is fairly thin, white and lightly smooth. The designs are printed on one side and the reverse is blank. I tested my various coloring mediums and this is what I found:
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper
Water-based markers can leave a slight shadow on the back of the page
India ink pens spot through the paper
Gel pens do not bleed through or leave shadows
Colored pencils work well with the paper. While it feels smooth to the touch, I found that there was still enough tooth to the paper to get good pigment coverage, especially using multiple layers. I was also able to layer different colors well and to blend easily using a pencil style blender stick. This was true of both oil and wax based pencils.
If you use markers or India ink, I suggest that you place the page you are working on on a blotter page of heavyweight paper. Just be sure not to have another calendar page below your work and you should be fine. Otherwise, you could damage the page(s) below.