Holiday Wishes as Discover Albia Goes on Holiday

I usually miss out on making a holiday post, but not this year. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and enjoys the holiday season! Whatever you celebrate, may it be filled with happiness with friends and family! This is a bit of a bittersweet post, though, since it marks the beginning of an indefinite hiatus for Discover Albia. I have some things going on that are keeping me busy, but my gaming computer is also starting to act up. Not so fun! So rather than going on my usual disappearing act, I wanted to let everyone know ahead of time. All is well, though, so no worries! Fizzbee had a chance to hang out on my Christmas tree… And she also got into a few other things. Enjoy a little bit of holiday cuteness!

So let’s just begin this by saying that I like to color. A lot. Too much? Ha ha! This coloring craze for adults started a few years ago, but I’ll admit (with a little embarrassment) that I’ve been coloring in coloring books with crayons forever. I loved it when I was a kid, and in many ways I’m still a kid! This year I decided to get a little more serious with this little hobby. So Fizzbee jumped on over to my table to take a look around…

That little Norndoll was ready to color anything purple to match herself! Easy there, little lady. This is how it looks when I color. Slightly cluttered, but everything serves a purpose. My absolute favorite coloring book artist is Hanna Karlzon. I just started in her first book, Daydreams, and you might notice her second book hiding out in the upper left. What else is there? Since I’m no artist, I discovered that using visuals to help me works wonders. I use a combination of cards from the Story World series and the Victorian Fairy Tarot for inspiration, ranging from color schemes to seeing just how to shade a particular element. I also thumb through Brambly Hedge and Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales from time to time. Most importantly, I use Faber-Castell Polychromos coloring pencils and, occasionally, Faber-Castell PITT Pens. But again, I’m no professional artist! I take my coloring materials seriously, but the actual act of coloring? That’s just a fun experience!

Art by Hanna Karlzon from the Daydreams Coloring Book

Fizzbee popped over to look at the first big page I’ve been working on. I am the world’s slowest colorer. Seriously… You do not want to know how long it’s taken me to get this far! Yet to each their own, and this makes me happy. Going off of my previous comment about making coloring fun, I keep a coloring journal with my color choices and some comments about each section. I call these purple flowers “Shiny Flopsies” and the upside-down tulip flowers “White Dropsies.” Definitely scientific names right there. Ha! A quick and very random tip: Some people (including myself) sometimes get discouraged when we see these absolutely amazing finished coloring pages. Instead of thinking of how much better someone else did, think of it as how he or she did it differently. I write something positive, something I’m improving upon, and something that could be better for each thing I do. Fizzbee had one comment: The choice of purple for those flowers was perfect!

Last, but certainly not least, is my coloring partner, Kirkwood! He’s my parakeet I adopted about two years ago, and he hangs out in his “house” (aka cage) next to me while I color. He is hilarious, and will silently do all sorts of antics until I finally look over and laugh. He was feeling tired after Fizzbee’s visit, and also due to the fact that he’s going through a molt right now. He’s missing a face spot and looks a little more raggedy than usual. Still, this is one of the cutest pictures. Here’s to wishing everyone a lot of cozy and peaceful moments like this one with Kirkwood! I may be disappearing for a bit, but rest assured that all is well and I intend to come back to Creatures at some point. In the meantime, all the best to all of you wonderful people!