Colouring with Creative Karen Marcotte
My life is filled with love and laughter thanks to the amazing people I get to hang out with. As well as being awesome, they’re creative, talented, generous, and fun! I thought you might like to meet them so I’ve asked them to come and give us a behind-the-scenes look at what they’re passionate about. I have to warn you though – creativity is contagious!
Adult colouring books? Who’d have thought they’d be so popular? Karen Marcotte – that’s who! Karen loves to colour and started long before the current trend started. She has an excellent eye for colour and shading and makes an everyday card a work of art!
Karen, how did you get interested in colouring? K: I’ve been making greeting cards for a few years. They started out as mini scrapbooking projects. Initially I used embellishments with things like 3-D appliques – and I seem to recall a glitter phase. Then it evolved to embossing, and then to colouring with different media – paint, markers, and pencil crayons.
How do you make a card? K: I colour first and make the card second! I start with a stamp. I used to use wooden stamps, but now most of them are clear plastic mounted on blocks or digital images that can be sized and printed on special paper. Then comes the fun part – the colouring! I have a selection of over 280 special markers – I love Copic markers –they’re alcohol-based markers that blend beautifully. I use shading and layers to get exactly the colour I want.
And I know you have such a keen eye, that you can see a colour and know exactly which one of the 280 markers creates it! If someone would like to start making cards, what advice would you give them? K: Stamping Up is an online community for card making. It’s sort of like going to a Tupperware party with a demo and instructions. They teach the basics and you can buy the supplies and they walk you through it. You could just buy what you need on your own, but it’s more fun to get together with a group of friends or other enthusiastic card creators! For more advanced techniques, Kit and Clowder has excellent online workshops. You get a booklet of written instructions, images, downloadable videos, and the best part – feedback from the instructor!
I love the Bella Stamps you use. What are your favourite stamps (or is that like picking a favourite child)? K: Haha – a little. I really like Kraftin’ Kimmie clear stamps and Mo Manning digital stamps. Most stamp companies have a design team. The design team gets early access to free stamps and commits to colour and post the images to promote them. And you can meet some interesting people, too!
I love that your art is also practical. Cards make great gifts – except they’re too pretty to give away! K: It’s great for fundraising too – I’ve made cards to support Autism and Crohn’s. It’s a great excuse to get together with friends and colour all day!
It’s the fun in fundraising! Haha. What would you pick as a superpower? K: The gift of healing. I would love everyone around me to be healthy.
Hey, me too! What song would be your theme song? K: Is there one called ‘Take Me on Vacation with my Markers’?
If not, there should be! What’s your favourite dessert? K: Carrot cake with cream cheese icing.
Yum!! If Liesa Cross would make her GF one, I could share it with you. Karen, thank you so much for dropping by and sharing your colouring expertise. You have a very special talent for creating stunning art. And what a better way to relax and be creative – go colour!