Creative Haven Winter Scenes Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)
By: Marty Noble
Rating: 5 of 5
This is a beautiful coloring book of winter inspired scenes by artist Marty Noble. It is not a Christmas book but rather a book that celebrates the winter season with snow, snowflakes, bundled up children in coats, and glorious outdoor scenes with town folk, charming homes, and animal scenes set in a snowy landscape. I really appreciate that fully half of the designs are drawn landscape versus portrait. I like being able to get a wider design when I am coloring a landscape.
The designs are printed on one side of a good weight perforated paper (the type that is standard for current Creative Haven coloring books.) The binding is glued and the designs stop well before the perforations. Each of the designs include a frame around it to give the colorist a definite stopping point this saves me time and ink and provides a more finished look to my project.
All of my markers and gel pens bleed through on Creative Haven paper. Coloring pencils work well. I generally do use markers and gel pens, so I either remove the page from the book or I place a piece of chipboard, card stock, or heavyweight paper beneath the page I am working on to keep seeping ink from ruining the next design.
Creative Haven ChristmasScapes Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)
By: Jessica Mazurkiewicz
Rating: 5 of 5
Jessica Mazurkiewicz brings her signature style of collage designs to Christmas Time. As with her other coloring books, the designs in this book show multiple images that overlay one another that all deal with a single subject (for example, nutcrackers, ornaments, or bows.) At first glance, it seems that the designs may be repetitious but when you look a little more closely, you can see that while they may have a similar shape or subject, they are all quite different as well. I purchase Springbok puzzles that have a similar feel and really enjoy those as well. Coloring lets me put my spin on how the items should look. As Christmas is my favorite time of year, I am always looking for fun crafts to do that celebrate the season and this book is a great one for a single person or for a family to share.
The designs are printed on one side of a good weight perforated paper . The binding is glued and the designs stop well before the perforations. Each of the designs include a frame around it to give the colorist a definite stopping point this saves me time and ink and provides a more finished look to my project. With this book, the frame is made up design elements to add to coloring fun.
All of my markers and gel pens bleed through on Creative Haven paper. Coloring pencils work well. I generally do use markers and gel pens, so I either remove the page from the book or I place a piece of chipboard, cardstock, or heavyweight paper beneath the page I am working on to keep seeping ink from ruining the next design.
This great coloring book is filled with beautiful illustrations to go along with the famous Christmas poem. The pictures are heavily detailed and shaded, so coloring in larger swathes seems to work better than trying to get in and do a single detail at a time. What is kind of cool about this is that you can use a single color over the gray scale and it comes out looking like you spent some time adding detailed shading.
The designs are printed on both sides of the paper and some of the designs spread across two pages. All of the designs (including the two page spreads) stop before they reach the bound edge. The binding is glued rather than sewn. You can cut the pages out with a penknife if you wish to, but for me, I will consider this a color book that stays together. I was able to press hard on the spine and get the book to lay flat.
All of my markers and gel pens bleed-through on this paper. My coloring pencils work great (especially the soft core ones), so I will only be using pencils to finish this book.
I love the illustrations with the jolly Santa (especially the one with him upside down in the chimney.) It brings back the fun of the holiday I had as a child. I can imagine my husband and I coloring this book each year as we head into the holidays. I’m finding that by not being too detailed, the coloring is going very fast. I’m going to finish this one in color pencils but I may buy another one next year to experiment with pastels.
"Shine": Color Your Life Beautiful Inspirational Adult Coloring Book
By: Christian Art Publishers
Rating: 5 of 5
This is a very lovely slightly smaller format but thick coloring book which is pre-set for gift-giving (the first page is a removable To/From page.) I definitely think it would be a very nice gift but I also am happy to pick it up for myself, too. The designs in the book all have something to do with nautical or tropical subjects with a good number of lighthouses included. The words range from verses from the Bible (Old and New Testament), hymns (such as Amazing Grace), and other religious sayings (Serenity Prayer as an example.) Not all of the designs are directly related to faith some are merely fun to color designs.
The verses used in this book are from a variety of translations, including: New International Version, New Living Translation, and the New King James Version. The images used for the designs are licensed from Shutterstock.com which provides images for a number of other books, so a few of these designs may look familiar to colorists.
The cover art is included twice in the designs in the book, the first is the title page and the second one is enlarged slightly and has a Christian saying superimposed in the sky area. There are more than sixty pages of designs in the book, including two pages of cards which can be colored and cut out. I’m not quite sure of the purpose of the cards but they are included.
The designs are printed on one side only of heavyweight (almost card stock) white paper. The paper is perforated and the binding is sewn in rather than glued. A number of the images extend beyond the perforation and lost parts of several are part of the design you would miss (pieces of a mirror image banner, etc.) What appears to have happened is that the design was centered on the whole page rather than on the area to the right of the perforation. That is a shame and hopefully, the publisher will correct that for future coloring books. Otherwise, it is a well made book and one that is easy to color in. You can choose to remove the binding and cut the pages at the mid point in order to get the full design, though you will have a slight line of micro-perforations on the page.
My markers bled through to varying degrees and my gel pens did not but they needed extra drying time as the ink sat on the top of the paper than seeping through. My coloring pencils went on this paper really nice and creamy. I will use all of my coloring tools but I will either remove the page from the book (it is fairly thick) or I will place a piece of chipboard under the page I am working on to make sure nothing seeps through.
This is one of two Bible-based coloring book by this publisher that I have purchased that did not focus exclusively on Bible or Christian images. While it surprised me at first, I came around to it as a good all-around coloring book which has verses for the times when I want to concentrate on those.
Tangled Gardens Coloring Book: 52 Intricate Tangle Drawings to Color with Pens, Markers, or Pencils
By: Jane Monk
Rating: 5 of 5
This is not only a beautiful coloring book filled with 52 intricate hand-drawn designs but it is also an extremely well made one, too. The designs in the book focus on the garden, with many floral subjects. As a gardener, this focus is very appealing to me. The book goes far beyond that and has animals (rabbits, owls, etc.) as well as birds and insects as well. The artist’s style makes me think of whimsical and fun times but the designs also have very intricate and sophisticated styling under the playful surface. Each of the designs seem like they will be a great coloring experience.
As if the designs alone were not enough, the artist has included page and page of information teaching various color theory and techniques. I’ve seen other books with some information in them but this is the most detailed one that I have seen as yet. I’m impressed and will certainly be putting some of Ms. Monk’s suggestions into practice. I’m also impressed enough that I will be purchasing her first book in the near future, too.
The book is very well made and is slightly smaller than a standard coloring book. The pages are printed on one side of heavyweight bright white perforated paper. Some of the designs extend past the perforations but nothing of note will be missing if you remove the page from the book. The binding is sewn in rather than glued.
My markers were a mixed bag when it came to coloring in this book. The only ones that consistently did not leak through were my Staedler triplus fineliners. My Tombows dual end brush did not leak when I used the brush end but did with the marker end. All other markers both water and alcohol-based leaked through. My gel pens did not leak through but needed extra drying time. My various coloring pencils all worked well. Whatever coloring tools you decide to use, you can either put a heavyweight page below the page you are working on or you can remove the page easily from the book to keep ink from leaking through to the next design.
Inky Garden: Creative colouring with quests & 3D paper flower (Inky Colouring books) (Volume 2)
By: Helen Elliston
Rating: 5 of 5
Inky Garden is beautiful and intricate coloring book with more than 50 pages of hand-drawn coloring designs. The designs, by artist Helen Elliston, cover a wide range from flowers to animals to wishing wells to topiaries. I really enjoy this artist’s work. It is very detailed and presents a beautiful picture both before coloring and afterward. There is a quest included in the book as well as a fold-able 3D flower (with pages and instructions at the end of the book.)
As with her first coloring book, for the most part, I consider the book to be printed on one side of the page only. The back side of most pages have a slight design. There are perhaps nine designs that seem to spread across two pages. For those, I will ignore the small portion of the design on the opposite page and treat it as if it was a single page design. In some cases, that may have been the artist’s intent as the designs stop well before the binding and trying to color them as an entire design would leave a big white space between the two pages.
All of the design stop well before the binding. The designs are printed on one side of thin white non-perforated paper that is typical for books published by CreateSpace. The binding is glued but there is plenty of room for you to cut a page out if you choose to do so.
All of my markers bleed through and my gel pens either bleed through or leave a distinct shadow on the back of the page. My coloring pencils work well with the paper. I will use a piece of chipboard or heavy paper behind the page I am working on so I don’t ruin the following page with leaking ink.
While I could wish for thicker, perforated paper, the designs in this book are so lovely it just doesn’t matter that to me. I stumbled across Ms. Elliston’s first book Inky Ocean and I am now a real fan of her work. I will be looking for more great books from her in the future.
Inspiring Words: 30 Verses from the Bible You Can Color
By: Zondervan
Rating: 5 of 5
The Scriptures used in the 30 designs in this book are based on the New International Version (NIV). The designs focus on the Bible verse and the design around it is not necessarily applicable to the verse. Verses are taken from both the Old and New Testament. The words are very artistically set within the page and use various fonts to give each design its own special look. The design elements all look like they will be fun to color without too many intricate and small areas that might prove too challenging. There are many flowers, hearts, even a lion, as well as many other elements.
I am really pleased with the verses which were chosen for this book. Amongst them are some of my favorites albeit in a different translation than the one I used for my memory work as a child. Regardless of the translation, they still speak to my spirit and coloring them will be a time of mediation on the words as well as a time of resting of my mind from the day’s problems. I find that the title is apt as I found myself feeling inspired and renewed after reading through the book.
The designs are printed on one side of the page only. The pages are not perforated but do include a cutting line for your use if you choose to remove a page from the book. The designs all stop at the cutting line, so you will not lose any part of the design if you do cut it out. The binding seems to be both sewn and glued in. The stitching seems to be from front to back instead of through several pages but I also see evidence of glue, too.
I was able to bend the binding enough to get the book to lay flat, so I will probably not be removing the pages from the book. I like having them all together but with a little work you can remove the page if you want to frame the finished design I do suggest doing so before you color it so you will not take a chance on tearing or damaging your finished picture.
I had mixed results when it came to coloring with markers in this book. The only ones that consistently did not leak through were my Staedler triplus fineliners. My Tombows dual brush did not leak when I used the brush end but did with the marker end. All other markers both water and alcohol-based leaked through. My gel pens did not leak through but needed extra drying time. My various coloring pencils all worked well. Whatever coloring tools you decide to use, you can put a heavyweight page below the page you are working on to keep ink from leaking through to the next design.
Coloring With Your Octopus: A Coloring Book For Domesticated Cephalopods
By: Brian Kesinger
Rating: 5 of 5
If you like steampunk or octopuses or just want something really fun and unusual to color, this is a great book to consider. The images follow a young woman and her pet octopus. With her garb and some of the other accessories seen in the designs, it seems to be set in a steampunk alternate world. The 48 designs include both the title and end page illustrations and portray funny scenes that just might happen if you could, for instance, take your octopus for a walk.
The format of the book is unusual for an adult coloring book. It is short in height but long in width. I’m assuming that it follows the format of the illustrated books by this artist as the designs are obvious made to fit this format perfect. Because of its size, the book sits a little awkwardly in my bookcase but the designs more than make up for it sticking out a bit at the front.
The designs are printed on both sides of a good weight white paper. The pages are not perforated but the binding is sewn rather than glued, so removing the book from its binding is easily done by clipping those threads every few pages. The designs all stop well before the binding and have plenty of white space around the entire page for framing should you wish to do so.
All of my markers bled through this paper, though my Staedler triplus fineliners worked the best. None of my gel pens bled and my coloring pencils went on very nicely. Because of the two sided printing, I will be coloring this book with a variety of gel pens and coloring pencils and will put the markers away unless I accept that I will ruin the design on the back of the page.
This is my second coloring book by Lizzie Mary Cullen. The other is The Magical City. I really enjoyed the first book and like this one even more because it celebrates my favorite time of the year. Ms. Cullen’s artwork shows a beautiful swirl and flow that re-invents how I look at prospective. There are classic themes in the designs but they are imagined in a new and modern fashion. Most of the designs are very intricate, include some small areas for coloring, and fill the pages. The designs are definitely geared towards an British Christmas theme but there are nods to other places with designs specifically showing how Christmas is celebrated elsewhere. My favorite, because I love all things Holmes, is currently Christmas At Baker Street which will be my first design to color in this book.
There is also a hidden objects search and find as many artistic coloring books are now including. The key is in the back of the book, along with what amounts to a proof sheet of the pictures in the book with the names of the of the various designs. I’ll include a long listing at the bottom of this review if you would like to look through what is included especially as the designs are so detailed, the names may be of equal use in understanding the contents of this book.
There are 65 designs in this book, 17 of which span across two pages. The book is printed on a good medium weight white paper. The cover does not come off but the inside of front and back can be colored though the paper is extremely glossy. The outside of the front of the cover is beautifully illustrated and colored with touches of red and gold foil on it. There are parts left that you can color and the outside is slick but not glossy.
I love coloring books with cats and this is a great one. There are 32 fun and funny designs in this book. The pictures are all done horizontally which is unusual compared to most coloring books. For this subject, I really like it. It forces you to turn the book sideways which puts the binding at the top of the page that makes it definitely more user friendly for both right and left handed colorists.
The designs show cats doing all sorts of stunts that cats really do. As I looked at each image, I could easily say my cat did that! I especially like the two with the Christmas tree the box in one is infinitely more interesting than all the toys and in the other well cats and Christmas trees need I say more? I am going to have so much fun with this book. My other cat coloring books primarily focus on the cat but in this book, the situations are equally important. I was happy to note this book is named Book 1 as I hope to see more of these adorable cats in the future.
The designs are printed on one side of thin bright white paper. The designs all stop well short of the bound edge with a framing line around the design. That way, you won’t lose any part of the image if you choose to cut a page out of the book. The binding is glued, so it may be easier to cut off the binding (office supply stores can do this) rather than cut out a page at a time. I was able to break the spine by pushing on it hard and could get the book to lay flat.
All of my markers and gel pens bleed-through on this paper. My coloring pencils go on nicely. I will certainly be using all three in my coloring of these designs, so I will place a heavyweight piece of paper or chipboard under my working page to keep the rest of the book from absorbing any of the ink.
I was provided a free sample copy of this coloring book for test and review purposes.
