Today I'm sharing a Copic Doodled Heart page, created to support breast cancer awareness month - yes I'm talking about doodles and tah-tah's today - I hope you all don't mind!

WHY SUPPORT BREAST CANCER AWARENESS?

Because...

• One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime
• More than half of all breast cancers are discovered by the woman herself or her own doctor
• Early detection saves lives – the earlier a cancer is discovered, the greater the chances of successful treatment
• Nine out of 10 breast changes are not due to cancer, but you should see your doctor to be sure
• Breast cancer is also diagnosed in men (although the chances of this occurring are much lower than for women)

Why is this important to me?

Watch out this is gonna get personal - skip to the pics if you like.  Breast cancer awareness is a cause very close to my chest (pun intended) - both of my Grandmothers have had breast cancer.  One had a double mastectomy and the other a single mastectomy.  Back when they were diagnosed, breast cancer was still killing many women and both of my grandmothers were extremely lucky to have the cancer detected and able to be removed.  Sadly breast reconstructions were not common and extremely expensive, so both of these women were left to deal with the effects of mastectomy:  scarring,  physical difficulties, problems finding clothing, dealing with inserts, special underwear and not wanting to undress in front of ANYONE.  I was in my teens when this was happening and watched as both of these much loved women went through the trauma of breast cancer.  My mum and I now both live with a little black cloud, wondering if we are next - I've even thought about having the genetic test taken by Angelina Jolie, but I'm not in one of the highest risk groups, so have put this off for now.  I turned 40 a few weeks ago and now qualify for free mammograms, while it's not something I am looking forward to is is absolutely something I will be doing from now on.  Breast cancer is something we should all be aware of and actively checking for.  Your best chance is to catch it early, have it treated and...

Save the Tah-Tah's

 
So here is my Copic Doodled Heart in support of breast cancer awareness, I've included a LINK in case anyone wants to download and colour it in for themselves :)  
 
I'd love to see how you colour this up, so feel free to post your version over on the K.I.S.S. group on Facebook or even add in link to your photo in the comments section below this post!

I've kept the colouring very simple as doodling isn't about perfection and planning, it's about freedom and spontaneity - it should be low stress and FUN.  
I've begun with adding RV02 and RV04 to colour my flower petals.

Next something bolder, stripes of RV00, RV04 and RV09.

Even darker on the doodles at the base of each heart with RV55, RV66 and RV69.

Next I've added RV23 and RV25  to the leaves

For the really BIG swirls I've added a little blending - nothing fiddly or fancy, just a little flicking!  
Begin by adding RV09 to the tip of each swirl.

Then add RV69 the the base of each swirl, leaving some white space in between.

Fill the white space between RV09 and RV69 with RV66 - Flick the RV66 into both the darker and lighter colours to blend, it will look a bit off, but a few layers will fix this. 

Keep adding colour, flicking to blend and after about 3 layers you should have a nice blend of colours.

Add a little RV000 to the stripes and some RV09 to the embellishments on the swirls.

Colour any white areas within the design using RV10, though leave the background uncoloured for some contrast.

Outline a few key elements with N1, N3 and N5 for some shadows and depth.

and you are finished!

Do you think it's pink enough?

You can see how I created this below