Costume Parties in Coloring Pages

This past week I added a new hat to my proverbial wall of tricks and trades. 

It began with little drawing boards my girls were gifted the week prior. At night after they’d drift off to dreams, I’d make a little doodle to surprise them in the morning. Their enthusiasm over the surprise pictures was ever so sweet, but also a little counterproductive as they never wanted to erase the board. And so an idea to free the hostage drawing boards came upon me. The next morning they woke to a sheets of paper, with pictures reminiscent of those doodles on the boards, but these ones they could color. 

Little did I know I had set myself up for a new full time position as lead coloring page illustrator, under the creative direction of co-presidents Jane and Lucy. 

While I do enjoy scheming up little ideas in the quiet of the night, it will never compare to the delight of creating together, a true collaboration of inspirations. My hands as a conduit to bringing their ideas to life- a dress for her, and stars here, and pumpkins there—they have ever so many ideas (and opinions). Nevertheless, it’s such a delight to see how one little girl who was given the name Autumn, dressed in costume as a nice little witch, has inspired a whole cast of costumed characters and festive (non spooky) halloween fun.

Before I go any further, I must tell you that I have NEVER considered myself to have any skill whatsoever in the art of drawing. Yet I have always promised myself to keep all insecurity at bay when it comes to answering the requests of my dear girls. So when they ask for a picture, even when I’m completely positive I have no idea how to do a thing, I always say that I will try. And when things don’t turn out as hoped for, we have ourselves a proper laugh and agree that more practice is definitely required. And through it all, I find such joy in experiencing these moments when I can see that I have been granted the opportunity to be a teacher and a learner at the very same time.

Fortunately, my little girls are only four years old, and my rudimentary drawings are often satisfactory and even pleasing to them. After all, they are seeing their ideas worked out on paper and I can see how very proud they are as they set to putting color to the vision. And how it does makes their pictures all the sweeter.

The matter of fact is, all of this has been too enjoyable to keep to myself, so I felt I really ought to share it here. First, so that maybe it might encourage you in trying things you don’t feel entirely confident in—you never know, you may just surprise yourself, if nothing more you’re sure to learn something along the way. And there really is something very sweet about trying something with a child like innocence surrounding it. Children are generous encouragers with even the silliest atrocities, and these moments are precious reminders to us mama’s to pull back the veil of perfectionism in order to cultivate space uninhibited creativity.

Second, thanks to the encouragement of some very kind hearted friends, I’ve added our little drawings to my Etsy page. It feels almost unbearably vulnerable to even do such a thing, and more so tell anyone about it. But maybe, you’ll find our pictures charming and cute, and maybe they’ll add a touch of enjoyment to your home as they have ours, and that alone would make me very happy.

Lastly, I love the way the pictures have evolved and we’ve been able to use them in so many ways—from cutout paper dolls (best printed on card stock), to allowing the girls to have a blank page of characters to draw in their own halloween decorations. Sometimes this has looked like mimicking the stars and moons and ghosts and spiders, and other times they have added elements entirely their own!! The open ended possibilities make it so much fun.

Now that I’ve put it all out there, I’d be so thrilled to see what you and your kiddos would take from it all. So if you do happen to get yourself a coloring page or two, I hope you’ll share. And because I really can’t think of any other way for me to see the things you share, I’m welcoming you to tag me @ivyandtweed #ivyandtweedcoloring on IG or even sharer in a message and I’ll pop in from time to time to take a peek!

And finally, as a little treat from me to you, I’m sharing the very first drawing of Autumn, dressed as a nice little witch and ready for tricks and treats on a quintessential October eve. Just save the photo, print and enjoy!! The rest of our coloring pages can be found on our Etsy Page; and so long as I keep doodling little pictures and you enjoy them, I’ll be sure to share them as they come.

Happy October to you all, dear friends.