Check out the new collection of products featuring Prairie Birds! The line art was originally created for my newest book, Birdy, and while waiting for it to be finalized and printed, I started working on a coloring of the Prairie Birds using a mix of colored pencils, watercolor pencils and gel pens. I then digitized the art on my iPad so it was easier to resize for a variety of products.
While I am smitten with the sling chair (alas, not in my budget right now), I ordered a tote bag, water bottle, laptop sleeve and coffee mug for my own personal use in my studio and for little trips. I am sure you’ll see the mug on my desk before too long. Many of these products (just a few are featured below) come in different sizes, and some, like the water bottle, have additional options as well.
Check the prices occasionally because items go on sale at Society6 all the time and they offer special discounts for subscribers. Please note that these products are all made to order, and they typically ship within 3-4 business days from several facilities around the country.
A little about the company … Society6 makes all of its products on demand. Artists (like me) submit their designs to create a collection, and when a customer orders a product, Society6 then produces it using the artwork and ships the products directly to customers (not to me). A bulk of each item’s price covers the cost of the item itself, but every artist makes a modest commission on the products sold using their designs, too⏤which is pretty cool.
I have ordered products from Society6 multiple times and have always had a great experience. If you do have any issues with their products, however, they have a great return policy (though a few items, like furniture of course, are not eligible for returns).
I just got an email saying my laptop sleeve already shipped!
Off I go to give my little studio space a good cleaning. Hope you all have a wonderful day!
After many long months of working hard to pull all of the parts of this book together, and going back and forth with KDP on layout issues, it is finally here and available on Amazon!
Following a few photos of the book, I included a description of what you can expect to find in the Big Book of Color Charts. I spent a lot of time polling coloring book fans and members of the Ruby Charm Colors Facebook community to find out what their favorite pencil sets were and a lot of time researching pencils on the Internet to settle on a list of the most popular brands (see below).
Of course there are many more brands in existence, but to fit them all into one book would fill hundreds more pages and wouldn’t be terribly practical for any of us. Hence the ample number of blank charts at the end of the book for adding in those lesser-known charts. In the end, I hope this is a book that will help you further enjoy your coloring adventures!
Front cover
Back cover
I removed the Tombow Irojiten page from one of my ‘author proof’ copies of the book to swatch out the colors I currently have, then wrote numbers in pencil next to the colors I have more than one of. This will help when it’s time to order replacement pencils since I’ve accidentally ordered duplicates in the past from Blick. I folded this chart in half and keep it in my zippered pencil case with my Irojitens for quick reference.
This big book of colored pencil charts for adult coloring book and colored pencil enthusiasts is useful for those wanting all of their coloured pencils, pastels, inks, watercolor pencils, gel pens and markers swatched in one handy book.
This is a landscape-oriented, perfect-bound book with a full color cover, black and white interior, and is 230 pages long. It consists of:
Introduction
Table of Contents
Index page to list your custom color charts and page numbers
27 pre-labeled charts for popular colored pencil brands (see list below)
Pre-labeled charts for pastel pencils, ink, watercolor pencils & markers (see lists below)
Blank charts by color family (reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, violets, browns, greys, blacks & whites)
Blanks charts for additional brands & color combos
Black charts for swatching light colors
Room for notes
A few fun Ruby Charm Colors designs you can color
Basic color theory (inside) with color wheel (back cover)
PRE-LABELED COLORED PENCIL BRAND CHARTS:
Arteza Expert
Black Widow
Blick Studio
Bruynzeel Design
Caran d’Ache Luminance
Caran d’Ache Pablo
Castle Arts
Cezanne
Chameleon Color Tones
Derwent Artists
Derwent Coloursoft
Derwent Drawing
Derwent Lightfast
Derwent Procolour
Derwent Studio
Faber-Castell Polychromos
Holbein
Koh-I-Noor Polycolor
Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor
Marco Raffine
Marco Renoir
Mitsubishi Uni
Prismacolor Premier + Verithin
Schpirerr Farben
Tombow Irojiten
Special Luminance & Lightfast Combo
PRE-LABELED PASTEL PENCIL CHARTS:
Caran d’Ache; Derwent; Faber-Castell; Koh-I-Noor; Stabilo
PRE-LABELED INK CHARTS:
Dr. Ph. Martin and Tim Holtz Distressed
PRE-LABELED WATERCOLOR PENCIL CHARTS:
Arteza; Bruynzeel; Caran d’Ache Museum, Neocolor II & Supracolor; Derwent Graphitint; Derwent Inktense; Derwent Watercolor; Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer
PRE-LABELED MARKER CHARTS:
Arteza Real Brush Pens; Copics; Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens; Spectrum Noir Illustrator Markers; Tombow Dual Brush Pens
The blank charts section of the book will give you ample room to swatch additional brands that are not listed. Some of the charts are numbered while others have a total count of the swatch spaces so you can more easily determine which chart will work best for the sets you have. Charts organized by color family let you swatch all your reds on one page, blues on another, etc. which is helpful when looking for the perfect hue regardless of brand.
IMPORTANT: watercolor and marker pages have black-backed pages to minimize bleed-through. The paper in this book (depending on where it was printed through KPD) is fairly tough, but obviously thinner than watercolor paper or card stock. Colors can look splotchy until they are completely dry. We recommend using a sheet of card stock or plastic to help protect the pages underneath from colors bleeding through as well as potential rub-through of pencil pigments while swatching.
You can make PERSONAL COPIES of the charts you plan to use onto your favorite paper or card stock if the paper in this book feels too thin for your needs, or, if you just want to put those pages of the charts you are using into a ring binder for safe keeping.
You can also deconstruct this book for ease of use, so feel free to take it apart, keep the pages you are using in one binder, and store the rest in case you need them later. Many office supply stores (and FedEx service centers) will remove the spine and even spiral-bind or punch holes in the book for you for a small fee.
If you choose to do it yourself, I have a step-by-step tutorial using another Ruby Charm Colors book (Creative Companion Book Binding DIY) on my blog. Or keep it as is—the choice is yours! It is meant to be a book that grows along with you and your artistic needs.
The Arteza Expert chart showing the notes & color combos page, plus two pages of the swatch areas and pencils names and numbers.
The Chameleon Color Tones chart with notes & color combos page
If you want to see what this adult coloring art journal is all about and how to use it, take a look. In addition to being able to track your days and your creative ideas, there are colored pencil (and watercolor pencil) charts you can use to keep track of your coveted coloring supplies. And there are plenty of illustrations to color.
Cheers to creativity! And please be sure to like and subscribe to Steph’s channel for book reviews, coloring tips and more!
“Bo Dog and the Moon” is based on an old pencil sketch I did of a canine companion I had years ago. He was a floppy, bumbling (150 pound) Anatolian shepherd. Bo lived with me in my car for a summer while I collected data for research on birds in the Sleeping Bears Dunes National Park. Yep, I’ve had my share of odd (but always interesting) jobs!
Bo (Mr. Bojangles as he was originally named when I adopted him) loved to swim in Lake Michigan, and sometimes at night we’d hear the coyotes yipping.
A “Color Your Own” version of Bo Dog and the Moon is also available as a soft-cover, 120 lined page, 6” x 8” spiral notebook that can be colored with your own favorite colored pencils, pens or markers. The tote bags, great for daily errands, shopping, hauling art supplies, or even using as a special gift bag, can be colored or painted by you or others as well. Bo Dog and the Moon is printed on both sides, constructed of 100% spun polyester with cotton web handles, lined with black fabric, and available in three sizes: 13” square, 16” square and 18” square.
This past summer, I transferred my Bo Dog image to the back of a denim jacket and after painting blocks of color in acrylics, started embroidering and a sewing on beads and metal studs. The jacket is almost finished (just need to add a few final touches and sew in a cotton lining) and it’s ready to wear. Here’s a close-up of part of the jacket:
Lots of options if you are interested in adding “Bo Dog and the Moon” to your home or wardrobe!
The black & white illustration this design is based on was originally drawn by the artist, Susan Carlson, for the Ruby Charm collection of coloring pages and books for coloring enthusiasts.
I am pretty excited about the possibilities with this new line of notebooks and totes that can be hand-colored by anyone and everyone who loves to color (and personalize their gear). The idea grew out of a growing collection of black and white illustrations that were created especially for people who love to color. The “coloring craze” was predicted to be a fad, but based on my experiences getting to know colorists and some of the artists like myself who create coloring books and pages, I think the craze is here to stay … and it is being elevated. That said, I decided to apply my designs to items that can be colored, but also used again and again.
‘Color Your Own’ Paisley Fox Tote Bag and Spiral Notebook
‘Color Your Own’ Spiral Notebooks:
Jot your notes down in a soft-cover, 6” x 8” spiral notebook with 120 lined pages (90gsm paper stock) with a document pocket in the back. The card stock weight cover (350gsm) features an original black and grey line Ruby Charm Colors illustration that can be colored with your own favorite colored pencils, pens or markers.
‘Color Your Own’ Bo Dog and Moon Spiral Notebook
‘Color Your Own’ Tote Bags:
The tote bags, perfect for daily errands, shopping, hauling art supplies, or even using as a special gift bag, can be colored or painted by you or others as well! The black and grey line illustrations (currently six available) are printed on both sides and constructed of 100% spun polyester with cotton web handles. They are lined with black fabric and available in three sizes: 13” square, 16” square and 18” square.
‘Color Your Own’ Butterfly and Cicadas totes
The totes can be colored with your favorite Sharpies, fabric markers, fabric inks and paints, or acrylics. Be sure to first test your colors on the bottom of the bag since it is 100% spun polyester and may not be suitable for some markers or paints.
Always do a quick test in an inconspicuous spot first!
Always follow manufacturer instructions for proper use of any paints, inks or markers you plan to use. We also recommend inserting a piece of cardboard or plastic between the front and back sides of the bags to prevent paint/marker bleed through.
Also, pay attention to manufacturer instructions regarding special cleaning considerations – your normally machine washable tote will likely need special care (like hand-washing in cool water) once it is colored.
Totes and notebooks are manufactured and delivered directly to you by Threadless, and all designs are based on illustrations originally created for the Ruby Charm Colors coloring books and printable pages.
‘Color Your Own’ Three Birds tote bag
More designs will be added as time goes on, so bookmark this page and check back now and then! IMPORTANT REMINDER:Please be sure to test the paints or markers you plan to use on a small corner (or bottom) of the bag! Applying paints or markers will affect the washability of the fabric, so consider hand-washing in cool water and hanging to dry once you have worked your color magic!
The black & white illustration this design is based on was originally drawn by the artist, Susan Carlson, for the Ruby Charm collection of coloring pages and books for coloring enthusiasts.
Jot your notes down in this soft-cover, 6” x 8” spiral notebook with 120 lined pages (90gsm paper stock) and a document pocket in the back. The card stock weight cover (350gsm) features an original black and grey line Ruby Charm Colors illustration that can be colored with your own favorite colored pencils, pens or markers. Throw one in a matching tote and off you go!
A 5 x 7″ hardcover journal is also available with a smoother, laminate cover (not suitable for coloring). It has 128 pages (90gsm paper stock) and you can choose lined or blank pages [be sure to select the one you prefer]. Both books are made (and directly shipped to you) by Threadless.
The black & white illustration this design is based on was originally drawn by the artist, Susan Carlson, for the Ruby Charm collection of coloring pages and books for coloring enthusiasts.
