Color Outside the Lines

Collage created on FotoJet

Reviewing Summer Color and Activity Books for Kids or Adults

Summertime brings us wonderful weather for favorite outdoor activities. But sometimes it is too hot to play outside or rainy days force us inside. That's when some indoor activities are needed. 

Television programs and noisy games are fun, but sometimes 'quiet times' are welcome. Having a variety of coloring and activity books can be a perfect fit for such times. 

Coloring Books

Coloring books for both kids and adults are always fun. Here are a couple new ones to try.

Dr. Seuss Coloring Book

Available on Amazon

The Dr. Seuss Coloring Book is filled with playful patterns and intricate images based on everyone's favorite Dr. Seuss characters, this 80-page coloring book will occupy children from age 7 and up all the way to parents and grandparents who remember the lovable Dr. Seuss books. 

The illustrations come from such Dr. Seuss titles as The Cat in the Hat, Oh, the Places You'll Go, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Horton Hears a Who and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, to name a few. 

Now you can color Dr. Seuss any way you want!

The World of Debbie Macomber: Come Home to Color: An Adult Coloring Book

Available on Amazon

While the kids are coloring Dr. Seuss, mom or grandma fans of Debbie Macomber can enjoy their own coloring book. Based on the Blossom Street and Rose Harbor series, this special adult coloring book has 45 original illustrations that depict scenes from the series. Revisit favorite locales and relive the themes from these favorite Debbie Macomber stories. 

Summertime Activities

See on Amazon

Keep the kids entertained when inclement weather spoils vacation fun or the 'kids' start their “I'm Bored” routines with this fun DIY activity book called The Dad Lab.  The book contains 50 projects in the interesting realm of science and technology. The projects are simple and use materials found around the house.  I can already see that the project “make slime with only two ingredients” is one my young grandsons would enjoy. 

A fun way for mom & dad and grandparents to spend quality time with the kids in a way the kids would also enjoy.

Summary

Image from Bev Owens Article
Reviewing Fine Art Colored Pencils
on ReviewThisReviews

Add in some colorful crayons for the kids, and special pens and pencils for the intricate designs for adults and you'll be creating beautiful pages. 

So don't let weather spoil your summer vacation. These coloring and activity books will give everyone hours of fun and enjoyment. 

Check out a variety of fun reviews of other coloring books and coloring pencils on ReviewThisReviews: Coloring Books

(c) Wednesday Elf 6/23/2019

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON:

Reviewing Colorful Pens, Pencils, and Coloring Books

Traveling doodles

I recently spent several days in a row attending presentations. Oh how the time drags when I sit for hours on end. Fortunately, I had several of my InkJoy pens with me, which made note-taking and doodling more interesting. However, I regretted not bringing along some coloring pages or one of my journals with me. I doodled so much on the training handouts that my notes ended up being illegible. With so many different coloring items available, it was an oversight on my part to not take sufficient adult "fidgets" with me. An oversight that won't happen again. I am writing this as both a reminder for myself and a review of some of the best adult coloring and journaling items available.

Adult Coloring Books

Bev shared with us the gift her husband gave her for Valentine's Day - Midnight Garden Coloring Book. Prior to her review of this adult coloring book, I hadn't been aware that coloring books with black backgrounds existed. What a great idea! the black backgrounds result in vibrant finished pages.

Adult coloring books are so much in demand that they are now offered in "travel" or "on-the-go" sizes. These small coloring books are the perfect size for me. They fit in my work bag so I will be able to take them with me everywhere I go. The spiral-bound books are the best for laying the books flat and coloring ease.

on-the-go coloring books with travel pouch included

Colorful Pens

I mentioned my InkJoy pens. I find those ball point pens to be the best for doodling, note-taking, and journaling.  The colors are vibrant, the ink doesn't blob, and InkJoy pens are readily available in local stores and online. I really like being able to journal or take notes in a wide range of colors. one day I may be in a "blue" mood and another day I may want to write in pink, or orange, purple, or brown.

While my InkJoy pens are perfect for doodling, journaling, and taking colorful notes gel pens are better for coloring pages. This highly rated set of premium gel pens include metallic, glitter, and neon colors.

premium gel pens set with case and refills 

Colorful Pencils

I tend toward colored ink and fine-tipped colored markers rather than colored pencils. But I know many people who prefer a quality colored pencil. How fortunate we are that our own Heather has created high quality colored pencils and offers them for sale to the public! If you create with colored pencils you must check out her pencils at Aurora Art Supplies.

Related Link - Beautiful Blank Journals

It never, ever fails... when I'm sitting somewhere and am trying to be attentive, my mind wanders. I come up with the best blog ideas or I remember the forgotten grocery list items. When I don't have a journal available, I write these random thoughts down on scraps of paper, only to loose that scrap of paper. 

I realize that currently, most people write notes and reminders on their phone. I have occasionally sent myself a text message as a reminder. However, I still tend to do better with written reminders to myself. Or some of my thoughts and reminders are too long for a text message to myself. If I put my thoughts or lists in a journal, I can find them later when I need them.

Blank journals come in many shapes, sizes, and attractive designs. They also come in lined and unlined options. I find that I rely on blank journals for writing and remembering the old fashioned way.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON:

Reviewing An Adult Coloring Book

Midnight Garden: Coloring For Adults

One of my Valentine gifts this year was a new Adult Coloring book, Midnight Garden. My sweet husband knows me so well! He knows that I love to color and that I love flowers and birds which this book is full of.

I have other coloring books for adults but what I really like about this one is that all of the backgrounds are in black so the colors that I choose to use really pop on each page.

I also love that each page is perforated so that they can be removed before coloring or after. The advantage to removing before coloring is that if I press hard with a colored pencil it won't leave an imprint on the page underneath. I tend to lightly color in spaces but for outlining and some areas I do want to make the color dark.

Coloring is an activity that I have enjoyed for over 6 decades. I can't remember just when I picked up that first crayon but I do know that it was love at first touch and have never really stopped coloring. Naturally, at a young age the coloring was in books for children. As I became old enough to babysit, I would usually encourage the children to color. Sure, I wanted them to enjoy it but it gave me an opportunity to color, too! When my daughters were born, well, you guessed it...they were encouraged to color so that Mommy could color with them. Grandma has coloring books for the grandchildren and of course she has to sit and color with them!

You can imagine my joy when the adult coloring books started to come on the market a few years ago! I don't mind coloring in those little juvenile books but to have images meant for adults to enjoy is just awesome. They certainly present more of a challenge in the art of coloring and are a great stress reliever in the process. Not that I need to be stressed to pick up a colored pencil, crayon or marker; I just love the process as a whole.

Currently, I prefer using colored pencils while coloring. I love the ability to shade that they offer. Sometimes you can do that with crayons and markers, also but the pencils just do a better job in my opinion. The image to the right is a page from the Midnight Garden book that I did with my colored pencils. I just love the way it turned out.

Adult coloring books have become very popular in the last few years. My last trip to the book store was a pleasant surprise with several options available. They have even started Adult coloring clubs in the store. There is enough interest that they have opened the store to the clubs two nights a week. Isn't that cool?

How about you? Do you love to color? When was the last time you picked up a crayon or colored pencil and let your creativity out? It can be very relaxing and almost therapeutic in many ways. There are a lot of times that I will sit down to color a page to allow myself to focus on something else entirely. I may be working on a writing piece and feel a little bit of a block in how I want to write a passage. If I sit down and color for a while, I can think through the blockage. It might not work for everyone but for me it is a way to meditate and come up with a better writing job. Most of the time, I just color for the joy of coloring, though. 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON:

Adult Coloring Books are all the Rage

It's amazing to me that a new fad has hit the market.  In a time when everyone wants everything done yesterday,  Adult Coloring Books beg for you to take your time!

It seems,  we have found out, that running the rat race is sometimes driving us to a place where we all need just a little bit of quiet and peace.

Adult coloring books are much like the ones we had as children, but the designs are a little more intricate and require a steady hand.

That and a little patience, along with a good supply of coloring pencils or markers will make you an artist of exceptional beauty, brought to life by your own hands.



The Secret Garden is one of these Coloring Books.  I have seen it entirely from cover to cover and they are beautiful in design!  You are free to use your own imagination, pick your favorite predominant colors and  complete them to your own tastes.

The author of these pictures was trying to sell 200,000 copies, so that she would have enough to start another project.  What she did not know is that she would sell over a million copies of her beautiful book.

So, book number two became a reality as well.....



The Enchanted Forest is as beautiful as the Secret Garden and will keep any adult occupied for hours. The best part of this whole coloring book craze is that when you need some peace and quiet, something that will soothe your overworked nerves, you just need to grab your book and turn to the page you last worked on (or start a different one), and within the hour, you will find yourself unwinding and relaxing like never before.

In our busy world, these easy, beautiful and inexpensive books, will save you from many hours of therapy.  We have forgotten how to relax and enjoy the simple pleasures in life.  These Coloring Books are just that, a simple pleasure.

Add some wonderful markers, crayons or pencil crayons and you are all set to go.  I dare you to try it, and I bet you will love it.


Once you have finished one of the pictures, come on back and let us see.......share and let us admire your handiwork or send me the link and I'll post it.....

Just take a look at one of the beautiful designs in the Enchanted Forest...

The Magic Garden and Enchanted Forest are works of Johanna Basford, author and illustrator. I think she has a great future with her designs and I'm grateful that she has shared her talent with us.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON: