Monthly Archives: October 2017

The Saturday Evening Post Christmas Treasury: Classic Ready-to-Frame Prints and Coloring Pages (Adult Coloring)

By: Marty Noble

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a really lovely coloring and print book based on Christmas covers from The Saturday Evening Post. The book contains both coloring pages and pages with full color prints. It’s unusual to have both on separate pages but I really appreciate the thoughtfulness behind this. I can color the pages at the back of the book and, at the same time, frame or use the colored prints in other crafts. I am picking up a second copy so I can use all 30 print in decoupage projects that I will work on for Christmas gifts.

The coloring pages are wonderfully done as well. While the designs are all rendered into line drawings by artist Marty Noble, the original artwork is based on a wide variety of artists, including: J. C. Leyendecker, Norman Rockwell, Alan Foster, Henry Hintermeister, Manning de V. Lee, Keith Ward, Douglas Crockwell, Charles Kaiser, Stevan Dohanos, George Hughes, John Falter, Richard Sargent, Paul Nonnast and Benjamin Kimberly Prins. I will include a photo which provides the plate numbers, name of the artwork and the artist below.
I love these old covers. I even collected a few years ago but a collection such as these would have been out of my reach. The coloring pages have a good amount of detail but are not intricate and difficult to color. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I’m extremely pleased with this offering. I can only hope that Dover Publishing will consider doing more of this type of offering with other, non-Christmas covers of The Saturday Evening Post.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium.
30 Christmas line drawing designs rendered by Marty Noble of famous covers of The Saturday Evening Post, plus 30 full color prints of the same covers
The designs and prints are printed one side of the page with the pertinent information printed on the back of each page
Coloring paper is the usual Creative Haven quality: white, medium weight, slightly smooth and has perforated pages. The prints are on a fairly glossy heavy weight page with a very smooth touch. They are not perforated but pull away from the glue binding very easily if you wish to remove them from the book.
Glue binding similar to that of a notepad pages remove easily from the binding or, in the case of coloring pages, can be removed at the perforations.
This information applies only to the coloring pages:
The coloring designs do not cross over the perforations. There is a framing line at the outer edges of the designs
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper
Water-based markers bleed through in spots (somewhat heavier than with previous paper in the Creative Have line) and show colorful shadows on the back of the page
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page. India ink pens can bleed through when I apply more than one layer of ink.
Coloring pencils work well with this paper. I was able to get good pigment (color) lay down, layer the same color and multiple colors and to blend easily using a pencil style blender. I tested both oil and wax-based pencils with similar results. Hard lead pencils, like Verithins, leave dents on the back of the page.
I suggest either removing pages from the book to color or using a blotter page under your working page. I like card stock as it keeps ink from seeping through and damaging the pages below.

Inkspirations for Christmas Joy: Festive Coloring Designs with DIY Gift Tags, Postcards, Wine Tags and More

By: Kristin van Lieshout

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a lovely coloring book of Christmas inspired designs by Kristin van Lieshout. In addition to design pages, there are several pages of postcard, gift tag and even bottle hanger designs. The illustrations are festive and evoke the holiday spirit. While most are generic Christmas in subject, a few are religious as well. There is a Nativity that reminds me of stained glass windows, the three kings as well as ornaments, Christmas trees, snow scenes, animals and much more.

In addition to the designs for coloring, there are colored examples and, best of all, some colored pages which you can cut out and use for gift tags if you run short of time.
The designs are placed on one side of the page with a coordinating facing page with applicable quote. This gives the coloring pencil colorists opportunities for even more to color (see my color medium tests below.) The designs are beautifully hand-drawn which is the style that I prefer most of all.
32 pages of Christmas designs including some pages of designs for postcards and various size gift tags.
The design pages are bright white, medium weight and lightly smooth. The postcard pages are slightly heavier, a warmer color white and have a slightly more rough feel to them. All pages are perforated.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page
Water-based markers bleed through in spots.
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you apply heavily or multiple coats.
Colored pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
I like to use a blotter when working in the book. I use a page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper under my working page. It keeps seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.

Gift Boxes to Decorate and Make: Christmas

By: Nosy Crow

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a cute set of color it and make your own set of small gift boxes with Christmas/winter theme illustrations. To me, they resemble boxes used in take-out food. They will hold a smaller gift. The designs are extremely cute with coordinating areas to color or write in on all sides. The designs are detailed and some have a few intricate areas to color. I don’t find them difficult to color but they may present issues for someone with vision or fine motor skill issues.

The boxes are printed on a heavy weight paper. All of the pages are perforated for easy removal from the book. Once out, there are pre-scored fold-lines (as well as instructions) which allow for fairly easy construction of the boxes. In addition to folding, there are slots which hook together to hold the box in shape. The white and gold foil stickers at the back of the book can be used to hold each of the boxes closed once you have placed your gift inside.
This is what I found when testing with my coloring medium:
Alcohol-based markers bled through the paper.
Water-based markers, gel pens and India ink pens did not bleed through or leave marks on the back of either types of paper.
Colored pencils work well with the slight rough texture. I got could color with both oil and wax based pencils. I was also able to layer and blend well using a blender stick.

Fairy Tales Doodle Adventure: A Beautiful Coloring Book for Adults, Boys and Girls (Alice in Wonderland, Grimms, Chibi)

By: Julia Rivers

Rating: 5 of 5

Storytroll Designs has a great new coloring book line under their catalog Julia Rivers. The latest coloring book in this series is Fairy Tales Doodle Adventure by Ronie C. Pios. In this coloring book, the illustrations are a mix-up of fairy tales with lots of doodle creatures. The fairy tales are all familiar and some of the characters look a bit like parodies of some famous versions of the tales. However, the really fun part of the designs are the addition of the doodle creatures. These little guys are all over the place! Some are related to the fairy tale but many are random but integrate well into the overall design.

The designs are detailed and some have intricate and small areas to color. That is not surprising as most doodle creature books have intricate areas, which is part of the charm of the characters.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
40 designs which are a mash-up of fairy tale characters with doodle creatures
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality by CreateSpace printing: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding. While the designs do not have a framing line at the outer edges of the designs, they do have finished elements at the edges for ease of coloring.
Glue Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.
Water-based markers bleed through in spots.
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you apply heavily or multiple coats.
Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
I like to use a blotter when working in the book. I use a page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper under my working page. It keeps seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.

Tenderful Enchantments

By: Klara Markova

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the second coloring book I have by artist Klara Markova. She has a lovely and distinctive style which is instantly recognizable. Her designs are both charming and fun to color with fairly detailed illustrations. While some of the designs have intricate areas to color, most do not.

In addition to her fun illustrations, the book is very well made, It has a great hard cover and a lay-flat style binding which means you do not have to break the spine to color. As with her first book, I received a cute bookmark which can be colored as well.
Part of Ms. Markova’s style is the prominent use of shading in many of the designs. The book is not grayscale but it has more shading than most other books I own. The designs include animals, elves/fairies, imaginative forest houses and lots of other fun surprises.
While most of the designs are printed on one side of the page (with several cute little sketches that repeat throughout the book on the reverse side of the page), there are three designs which span across two pages. The artist made sure to have the backside of each of these pages contain the little sketches, so using a bleed through medium will not ruin another design. The items which cross over the binding are minimal and, in my copy, the pages line up excellently.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
Adorable and original hand-drawn artwork. There is also an extra page of cut out elements
Printed on one side of the page with a small, repeated designs on the back of the page
Paper is heavy weight, light ivory, smooth, and non-perforated
Sewn, lay-flat binding with a hard cover
Most designs merge into the binding but are not as difficult to color due to the type of binding utilized
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. If you use this medium, I suggest using a blotter page to keep ink from seeping through. I use card stock but a couple of pages of paper should work as well.
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens do not bleed through the page. Some do leave light, colorful shadows on the back of the page.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. While the paper is smooth to the touch, it still had enough tooth to get good pigment. I could layer the same color for deeper color, layer multiple colors and blend using a blending stick. I’ve found that using a liquid blending medium works very well, too.

The Wonderful World of Horses: Midnight Edition: Images now with a midnight black background

By: Simone Phillips

Rating: 5 of 5

This coloring book is the midnight version of the revised second edition of The Wonderful World of Horses by Simone Phillips. That means that the designs are printed on black backgrounds. The designs are still black line work with white space for coloring, which is how I prefer this style of book. That gives me the blank white areas that I use for shading and blending. It is simply that the backgrounds are already finished in black.

The designs have a lovely hand-drawn quality with little extras such as cross hatch shading on the horses. There is a flowing look to Ms. Phillips designs which conveys a real sense of movement. The designs are detailed but do not contains areas which are too intricate and small to color.
One of the things that I really enjoy about this book is the thumbnail images that serve as the table of contents. They are small in size but can be colored as well.
44 Horse inspired designs (not including title pages and thumbnails.)
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality by CreateSpace printing: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated. The black backgrounds are printed on white paper.
The designs do not merge into the binding. The designs have framing lines at the outer edges though some are not as evident as the background is black.
Glue Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.
Water-based markers bleed through in spots.
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you apply heavily or multiple coats.
Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. When blending with so much black involved, I prefer to use a liquid blending medium, such as Gamsol or odorless mineral spirits so that the black doesn’t smear. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
I like to use a blotter when working in the book. I use a page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper under my working page. It keeps seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.
I was provided an advance copy of this book by the artist.

Mounts 4: Halloween coloring book (Volume 4)

By: Olga Goloveshkina

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the first coloring book by Olga Goloveshkina that I have in my collection though this is the fourth one in her Mounts series. The focus of this coloring book is on Halloween inspired animals that are saddled to be ridden.

While the animals are instantly recognizable, the artist has shown a creative talent by drawing them with a fun flair. The saddles are inventive as are the Halloween style elements each design has incorporated. What is really interesting to me is the shading technique that Ms. Goloveshkina uses. Rather than heavy shading or cross-hatching, she has used a form of pointillism (that is, dots) to convey the areas of shading. It’s a fun and easy to color technique.
The designs are of the animal in saddle with details attached. There are no background designs. The animals are detailed but not intricate or difficult to color.
24 Cute Animals in Saddles Halloween designs.
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality by CreateSpace printing: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do not merge into the binding.
Glue Binding
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.
Water-based markers bleed through in spots.
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you apply heavily or multiple coats.
Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
I like to use a blotter when working in the book. I use a page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper under my working page. It keeps seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.

Kawaii Witches Autumn & Halloween Adult Coloring Book: A Halloween Coloring Book for Adults and Kids with Japanese Anime Witches, Cats, Owls, and Autumn Scenes

By: Halloween Coloring Books for Adults

Rating: 4 of 5

The little girls in the designs in this coloring book are more what I would call manga than anime (as the publisher as noted in their description inside the book.) Anime is based on animation and I don’t believe these designs are based on a specific animation series. While manga in nature, they definitely have a Kawaii vibe to them, which means that are cute! The designs include young girls and young women in scenes celebrating either (or both) Autumn and Halloween. While some of the settings are somewhat macabre (such as cemeteries and such), they are all quite cute and will be fun to color.

The designs are detailed and some have small and intricate areas to color. It appears that the designs are the work of more than one artist as there are definite differences in style. While the style is not the same, they do work together well for an overall cohesive coloring book. It’s nice to have both Autumn and Halloween in one book. I’ll have fun through the end of October coloring the Halloween inspired designs and then pick up with the Autumn ones through the end of November. I am also hoping for a Kawaii Girl Christmas/New Year book.
30 Kawaii Autumn and Halloween designs.
Printed one side of the page
Paper is typical inexpensive quality by CreateSpace printing: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated.
The designs do merge into the binding. If you cut pages out, you will lose portions of the designs. Unfinished elements are left at all four edges of the paper.
Glue Binding
Coloring book can be opened fairly flat by breaking or heavily creasing the spine.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.
Water-based markers bleed through in spots.
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you apply heavily or multiple coats.
Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.
I like to use a blotter when working in the book. I use a page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper under my working page. It keeps seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.