Enchanted Forest 2017 Wall Calendar: An Inky Quest and 2017 Coloring Calendar
By: Johanna Basford
Rating: 5 of 5
This is a spiral bound 2017 calendar based on some of the artwork from Johanna Basford’s popular coloring book Enchanted Forest. I must say that of her coloring books available at this time, Enchanted Forest may be my favorite so I was really pleased to find this calendar for my craft room. I recently picked up my copy of this calendar at my local big box store.
The original coloring book was printed on a cream tone paper but the calendar is printed on white. The calendar is the standard 12 x 12 inch wall calendar and is larger than the original book (approximately 10 x 10 inches.) It looks as if the designs were enlarged for the calendar format.
Because of the enlarged designs, I think that this might be a great way for someone with fine motor or vision issues to have an opportunity to color some of Ms. Basford’s designs. In the book, the details may have been a little too intricate for some people and the enlarged designs in the calendar may be just the right size for those individuals. It could be a great holiday gift.
There are holidays listed for a variety of English speaking countries, including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.
In addition to the pictures for each month, there is also one on the reverse side of the cover which is opposite a four-month segment of calendar for the last four months of 2016. The cover can also be colored and has pretty gold foil accents.
I purchased the Secret Garden Calendar last year and I think that the paper used in this calendar is superior to that. I also really like the spiral binding instead of the staple binding of the older calendar. The paper is a medium weight card stock in white.
This is what I found while coloring in this calendar and testing the paper with my coloring medium.
13 Enlarged drawings from the Enchanted Forest coloring book.
Designs are printed on one side of page with calendar on the reverse, except the first design which has the cover on the reverse.
Paper is medium weight chipboard, white and non-perforated.
Spiral binding
Designs do not cross over the binding area and stop short of the hole at the top of the page (for hanging purposes.)
Alcohol-based markers bleed through quickly.
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens did not bleed through the page. Some gel pens needed extra drying time. I suggest that you test any wet medium to see if you get leak through with the brand that you use.
Colored pencils work well with this slightly rough paper. I was able to put down good pigment, layer same and multiple colors, and blend using a blending stick. This was true of both oil and wax-based pencils.
I am using the 12 x 12 inch piece of cardboard as a surface under my working page. I am also using a 12 x 12 inch card stock for my blotter page (found these at my local craft store fairly inexpensively.) This keeps damage from ink that seeps through the page at a minimum.
I personally don’t care if the ink messes with the calendar page on the back, so I will use wet or dry medium depending on my mood. The cover and the picture below are the ones that I will use only colored pencils on as I don’t want seeping ink on either of those pages.