64 Adorable and Quirky Fairy Designs by Denyse Klette printed one side of the page

Zendoodle Coloring Presents Fairies in Dreamland: An Artist’s Coloring Book

By: Denyse Klette

Rating: 5 of 5

I first came across Denyse Klette’s artwork in her funny and quirky quilt fabrics and panels. I was immediately drawn to her unusual artistic style and have enjoyed it for several years now. When I found Fairies in Dreamland, it was a much buy on my list even though I could not even see a Look Inside at the time I pre-ordered the book. I absolutely have not been disappointed as the same cute style of illustration I enjoy in quilting is now available to me in an extra thick coloring book.

The book has 64 design pages (including the title and presentation pages which have designs on them as well.) The designs are of long thin fairies draped over toadstools, vines, branches and what have you in a garden setting. There are tons of quilts in the pictures as well. I especially like the cute little pigs that pop up from time to time. The designs are detailed and some are quite intricate with lots of tiny details to color. To color some of the tiny detail, I will need to use extra fine nib pens or extremely sharp pointed pencils. For most of the designs, my regular coloring medium will work well.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium. I will list, in the comments section below, the coloring medium I use for testing and coloring.

64 Quirky Fairy Designs by Denyse Klette (includes title and presentation page.)

Printed one side of the page

Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly rough and non-perforated.

Glue Bound

Some designs merge into the binding area

I can get the book to lay fairly flat with some effort (it is a thick book); however, coloring into the binding area will take some maneuvering

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly

Water-based markers and India ink pens leave shadows (some showing the color) on the back of the page

Gel pens do not bleed through but some larger nib pens required additional drying time. Be sure to check your specific gel pens so you don’t smear your work or close the book before it finishes drying.

Colored pencils did well with this paper. It has just enough tooth to grip pigment well. I tested both oil and wax-based pencils and they all performed well with multiple layers of the same color for deeper pigment, multiple layers of different colors, and blended easily with a blender stick.

I am using and suggest the use of a blotter page under your working page. I use card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper. This will keep seeping ink from getting to the pages below.