Reverse Coloring Calendar and New Markers - A Relaxing Friday Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent these products in order to provide honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

Well, this Friday has not really been relaxing. New England is preparing for three days of a Nor'easter so let the winds and rain begin. However, I have been wanting to share these great coloring products with you so today is the day!! Today we are going to talk reverse coloring and new acrylic markers! Talk about fun Relaxing Friday products!! We will start with reverse coloring. Have you tried it? It is when the colors are provided and you have to draw the lines and create whatever picture you want. This is my first time trying it and I got to try it with A Year of Reverse Coloring Page-A-Day 2027 Calendar by Kendra Norton and Workman Calendars. 

Publisher's Summary:

Forget drawing inside the lines—this calendar lets you unleash your true creativity! Based on Kendra Norton’s bestselling Reverse Coloring Book series.

• NEW! From the creator of the beloved original Reverse Coloring Book that started it all, free your imagination with daily doodles—the pages have the colors, you draw the lines!
• MINDFULNESS AND CREATIVITY: Slow down, let go, and let your pen find its way. Trace, draw, shade, fill in or dot your way to a peaceful state of mind.
• THE ORIGINAL WORKMAN PAGE-A-DAY CALENDARS ARE THE BEST DAILY CALENDARS ON THE MARKET: Page-A-Day® Calendars are built on expert authorship, engaging subject matter, and uncompromising design and production standards.100% recyclable and printed on responsibly sourced paper, with reverse pages printed for use as notepaper.

From Me:

I hadn't tried reverse coloring before, so I pulled out a few pages from the calendar and gave it a try. I tried to pick some pages where I saw things so I would know what to draw. I discovered it is harder than I thought at least for me. It definitely gets your mind thinking abstractly. It reminded me of the book, Tree Spirits Around the World, or trying to make out a face or object in the bark of a tree or in clouds. I didn't really finish any of my sample pages so I hope I will work more on them. Some of the colors look instantly like something. I saw flowers in the middle top row one right away. I saw cacti in the one next to it. Others are harder to decide what to do. I think for January 1st I would just draw designs because it already looks like rainbows. What would you do?

This calendar is fun and perfect for artists and people who love to doodle. It develops great imagination skills and vision skills as well. Honestly, if I was still teaching, I would bring it to my classroom and see what the students make of the different colorings. I know there would be some gorgeous artwork in the end. I think it is the perfect Relaxing Friday activity/product. It takes a twist from our usual coloring but is unique and fun too. Plus the calendar gives you quite a few different pages to try out since it is a Page-A-Day calendar. Saturday and Sunday are combined on the Page-A-Day calendars, so it is not 365 pages. 

Our next product I am excited to share with you. It is the Arrtx 60 Colors Acrylic Markers. These are perfect for coloring and all sorts of craft projects!!

From Arrtx:

• 60 Vibrant Colors for Endless Creativity: These acrylic paint pens come in 60 bold colors—ideal for scrapbooking, rock painting, card making, holiday decorations (Christmas, birthdays), and personalizing everyday items. Perfect for artists, crafters, and DIY lovers!
• Ultra-Smooth Brush Tip & Precision Control: Arrtx's brush tip delivers high quality strokes with even ink flow. ensuring smooth writing, drawing, and detailing.
• Quick-Drying & Waterproof: High-pigment, water-based ink dries fast and resists smudging. Once dry, it’s waterproof and durable on almost any surface—no fading or peeling. Perfect for indoor/outdoor projects
• Shake-to-Use & No-Press Design: Simply shake, uncap, and create! Our upgraded design eliminates messy pressing and protects the brush tip from wear. The ink mixes evenly for consistent vibrancy every time.
• Works on Any Surface: Use on rocks, wood, ceramic, glass, fabric, plastic, and more! Non-toxic, odorless. Ideal for artists, classrooms, family crafts, and DIY gifts.

From Me:

Shortly after I received my box of markers, it was rainy on Tuesday. I went to my favorite coffee shop with my new markers and a coloring book (as well as the calendar because I was trying to explain reverse coloring to one of the baristas). I picked a page that was a coffee shop and started coloring while drinking my chai. I loved the various color choices. I did am not used to the brush tip for coloring, so I struggled in a few spots to stay in the lines, but it got easier! The owner and employees enjoy chatting with me when I hang out and it is not busy and it was not this particular day. They loved that I was coloring a coffee shop page at the coffee shop!  The markers were easy to use, and I loved that you didn't have to get them started like you do with so many of the acrylic markers. I will admit I am not always great about shaking them before I use them. 

As you can see the colors did not bleed through and ruin the next page. You can see some of the colors on the back, but this coloring book luckily does not have double sided pages. I wanted to see what else I could do with these markers. I saw on the Arrtx page that they could be used on different surfaces. I tried to pull out some rocks to color on, but Steven put most of my rocks in his rock pile under one of the gutters. I found a couple I had painted previously and flipped them over to try. I also found some seashells and decided to try those. I even tried a wooden bead.

I did this before autumn started so I was still having summer vibes. But I also made some fall shells!

The markers were easy to use and dried quickly. I love how they came out. Now I have to drill holes in them to make them into ornaments! I also created some art in my journal sketchbook with the markers. I have been focusing on joy this year.

 I also made a flower vine using a technique I learned when making labels for quilts. I love how it turned out!

These markers are fun and got my creative juices flowing. After my coloring I started coloring more. I had bought this giraffe coloring book a while ago. It has smaller spaces, so I was using different coloring pens but then combined them with these markers. I love how they all look together!

These markers are so fun, and I can't wait to come up with new things to try them on. Stay tuned!