Daily Archives: April 18, 2017

Another great entry in a fun and cozy mystery series

Posted on April 18, 2017 by Iiiireader

The Decorator Who Knew Too Much (A Madison Night Mystery Book 4)

By: Diane Vallere

Rating: 5 of 5

This is one of my favorites cozy mystery series. With the fourth entry in the series, “The Decorator Who Knew Too Much”, author Diane Vallere takes her mid-century modern obsessed sleuth out of Dallas for a visit to Palm Springs.

Madison Night is an interior decorator who loves all things Doris Day. They not only share a birthday but also a love of pets. Madison has had some rough patches recently and likes to look to Ms. Day’s experiences for life lessons… not to mention clothing style as well.

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90 plus pages of Cute, Stylized Designs printed on both sides of the page

Posted on April 18, 2017 by iiiireaderadmin

Fairy Tales Coloring Book: Published in Sweden as “Sagolikt”

By: Emelie Oberg

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my first coloring book by Emelie Lidehall Oberg. The designs cover a wide range of subjects. While there may be some fairy tales designs included, for the most part, the designs appear to be a range of both fantasy and still life (flowers, dresses, etc.) The artist has a unique design style with her creatures all having cute round eyes. Her people have round cheeks and predominate eyelids. They are quite different from other designers and make for a fun coloring experience.

The designs are detailed but are not too intricate and do not have tiny little spots to try to color. Because the book is printed two-sided, I’m being very careful with what I use to color in it. I am avoiding using my alcohol-based markers as those bleed through the page (you can see what my test results were with various medium below.)
The cover is card stock rather than the hardcover I associate with this publisher. The cover is light ivory/antique white with green and pink elements as well as gold metallic accents. The front and back attached covers have a flap and there are designs on the interior which can be colored.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium.
90+ pages stylized designs
Printed on both sides of the page; no two-page spread designs
Paper is heavyweight, ivory color, somewhat smooth, and non-perforated.
Sewn binding which can easily be snipped to remove a number of pages at a time.
Most designs merge into the binding area. I can open the book fairly flat for coloring by breaking the spine.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. If you use these, you will have ink seep through and mar the design on the back of the page.
Water-based markers, gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through the page.
Colored pencils work well with the paper. I was able to blend, layer the same and multiple colors using both oil and wax-based pencils with ease.