Daily Archives: April 4, 2016

This is a small format coloring book which seems to be a grouping of designs which have been re-printed from other coloring books by Ms. McArdle. It may be that there are new designs in the book as well but I do recognize a number of them from the few books I already own. I wish that the book description would make it clear when the designs are re-prints. I would still have purchased the book because I am looking for books that fit into my handbag. I can either take the whole book or remove a page at a time to take with me.

The designs are all in the fun and simple line drawing style that I think of with this artist. It gives the colorist room to doodle in their own accents or to practice their blending/shading skills. For my first project, I chose a flower mandala in a tile type of style. I used ultra-fine point markers because of the small details.

I will provide more detail about the physical book below but here is an overview of what I found:

28 Coloring Designs with a variety of subjects
Printed on one side of medium weight perforated paper
Designs stop before the perforations
Glue Bound
Alcohol and water-based markers bleed through the page
India Ink pens bleed through the page
Gel pens do not bleed through
Coloring pencils work well with the paper

This is a coloring book published by Design Original books. As usual with their books, this book includes a number of examples of colored artwork. There are also tips from the artist about a variety of items including how various coloring medium looks when used.

The designs in this smaller to-go format book are printed on one side of the perforated medium weight page. On the backside of each page is the a quote or saying and several blank lines. Some people use these to journal; however, I like to note which coloring medium I used on the design.

The binding is glued but if you want to remove pages, I suggest using the perforations. The designs stop before the perforations so you will not lose any portion of the design if you remove it from the book. I was easily able to get the book to lay flat for coloring without much pressure on the spine.

I will list the coloring medium I used to test this book in the comments area of the review. Here are what my various tests discovered:

Alcohol and water-based markers as well as India ink pens bleed through the paper. Gel pens do not but need a little extra drying time. Coloring pencils work well with this paper. I was able to easily blend my soft lead pencils. My hard lead pencils left dents on the back of the page.

I cut out a piece of card stock to carry with this size book for use as a blotter. It keeps ink from seeping further into the book and keeps the hard tipped medium from leaving dents that mar the designs below.