Daily Archives: May 9, 2016

Kaleidoco Art 5×7 Adult Coloring Inspirational Affirmation Cards

By: Akacorves

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a set of 10 coloring cards with inspirational messages and beautiful abstract designs. In addition to the messages, there is a suggested thought or goal which correlates to the message. For instance, in the first card I colored, the message is: Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go and the thought/goal is I have the courage to follow my adventurous heart.

The cards are a single sided sheet of 7 x 5 inch cardstock and fit beautifully into a standard frame. I finished my first design, framed it and plan to give it to an individual who is on the brink of a new career. I see these cards as a beautiful gift to color, frame and hang or give away. You can also mount them on pre-made folded cards if you wish. I hope the publisher continues with this size and type of coloring card. I enjoy coloring postcards as well but this larger size is better for gifts and framing.

The designs are quite detailed and do have small areas to color. I choose to use regular fine point and ultra-fine point pens and markers to color the entire card, so for those tiny bits, I used a single color over multiple small areas to give the design a larger splash of color.

I was able to use all forms of coloring medium and they all performed well. The only one to leak through (slightly) were free-flowing alcohol-based markers such as Copics and Prismacolor markers. None of my water-based markers, brush pens, or India ink pens bled through at all. Gel pens did not bleed through and did not require additional drying time. My coloring pencils worked well both soft and hard lead. I was able to achieve deep colors with soft pencils which matched the pigment I achieved with markers. Blending was not as successful as most of the pigment stayed in the original spot and did not blend.

The cards are a heavyweight white card stock with a fairly smooth almost slick finish. I was easily able to color with it on my clipboard with no mars to the surface from the clip. In addition to the sample photos, I will show my first card from the front and back so you can see how little bleed through happened. I will also show it framed as I plan to gift it. The frame is something I purchased separately and is not included in the set.

I received a free sample set of coloring cards for test and review purposes.

Cat-a-Doodles: Adult Coloring Book-Whimsical Cats to Color and Love (Volume 1)

By: Jo Toye

Rating: 5 of 5

Cat-a-Doodles is a very cute coloring book filled with adorable cat designs. The designs are all original by artist Jo Toye. This is her first coloring book but I certainly hope it will be followed by more in the future. I have had cats as pets for many years and now that they have all passed on, I think of them all as I color the cat designs in this book. Certainly, as I went through the book, I could easily relate to a number of the kitties as if they were my own.

What is different and interesting about the way this book is put together is that there are 24 designs and for the first 21, we are given a second copy. That by itself is not that unusual; however, because the artist chose to make the second copy an enlarged and cropped version of the first, it makes it look and feel like a different coloring experience.

The designs are of cute kitties in a variety of situations. They are doing everything from reading books (about training those pesky humans) to cuddling their teddy bears. The designs are detailed and fun but not overly difficult or with tiny spots to color. I didn’t need any form of specialty pens, pencils, or markers to color these designs.

I’ve already completed four of the designs and look forward to finishing the rest of the book. I used a variety of alcohol-based markers with the first four designs I will upload as samples.

This is what I found while coloring and testing my mediums with this book:

24 plus 21 Cute and Original Cat Designs for a total of 45
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is typical CreateSpace paper thin, white, slightly rough, non-perforated paper
Glue Bound
Designs do not merge into the binding area
Plenty of room to cut out pages without losing design
Coloring book can open fairly flat for coloring purposes
Alcohol and water-based markers bleed through this paper.
Gel pens and India ink can spot through or leave shadows of color depending on how much I put on the page.
Coloring pencils work well: soft lead lay down color (both with a soft and a firm hand), layer, and blend well; hard lead (like Verithins) dent the back of the page but lay down good color

While I received my original copy of this coloring book as a free sample for test and review purposes, I so enjoyed it, I have already purchased additional copies for my use and for family and friends as well.