I received a free sample of this coloring book for test and review purposes.
This is coloring book filled with cute cat designs. There are a variety of styles but most are line drawings with fun elements added both inside and around the cats. Others are stylized portraits of cat faces and the bonus pages have pictures of many different types of cats, including wild and large cats.
While almost all of these cat designs are very cute and fill be lots of fun to color, there are a couple things to note: print quality between designs are quite different, a few designs are sized too large for the page and edges are missing, and some designs simply stop near the edge without a frame which leaves the colorist with open-ended and unfinished elements to their coloring. All three of these issues could be fixed in future books.
Amazing Copycat Coloring: Cool Pictures to Copy and Complete (Barron’s Copycat Coloring)
By: Emily Golden Twomey
Rating: 5 of 5
This book is being marketed to children by the publisher but as an adult colorist, I like both the pictures and the complexity they provide. The artist is Emily Golden Twomey who is also an illustrator/artist on other coloring books for kids. I had purchased another book in this line (by another artist) and thought I would take a chance with this one, too. This book has designs which would traditionally be geared towards boys while the other book, Beautiful Copycats is more traditionally for girls. I like them both!
The book is an interesting concept. The design you color is on one side of the page and a colored copy is on the back side of the proceeding page that way you can look at the finished design for inspiration. What it also means is that for me, as an adult colorist, my designs are printed on one side of the page and I don’t have to worry about ruining another design if my inks leak through. Usually, my books have white back pages, so these colorful ones are just pretty filler for me.
There are 25 designs (including the title page with space ships, the bookplate page [parts of both sides], and the end page which is partly colored) that include: haunted house, Egyptians, soccer, airplanes, knights, and a spaceman. The designs have a nice amount of complexity without having tiny intricate details. These are perfect for an adult who doesn’t want to strain their eyes or for a teenager or even an advanced younger child.
None of my gel pens nor my water-based markers leaked through on this paper. I didn’t try Sharpies or alcohol based but if I decide to use those, I am pretty sure they will bleed through as they do through almost all paper types. In those cases, I will sacrifice the colored picture and put a piece of chipboard under the design I am working on to keep the ink from leaking further through the book.
The pages are not perforated; however, the binding is sew in and it is very easy to clip the threads (on three different pages) to remove them from the book and cut the pages should you wish to work with single pages at a time.
The paper is quite thick (rather close to being a card stock weight) and the coloring surface is a soft white as opposed to a bright white. A number of the designs have full or partial black backgrounds. I find that neon colors and pastels really pop on this type background.
I’m really impressed with the quality of this coloring book. I will be buying more in the line as they are released and have pre-ordered the two which are due to be published in early 2016.
This is a lovely book of fictional literature. While there is a romance in it (especially towards the end), the real story is about how a woman learns to reinvent herself after a mid-life crises.
Katherine finds herself unexpectedly single after her husband of many years leaves her for another, younger woman. That the woman is expecting their child makes it all the more painful for Katherine as she was unable to conceive and has now gone through menopause.
Creative Haven Midnight Forest Coloring Book: Animal Designs on a Dramatic Black Background (Adult Coloring)
By: Lindsey Boylan
Rating: 5 of 5
This is my second book by Lindsey Boylan where the backgrounds are pre-filled in with flat mat black and the design stretches over the entire page from side to side. I really love the way that my coloring pops off the page with this style. I have found that my pastel and neon colors really show up in a whole new way.
There are 31 designs in the coloring book and they are all quite imaginative. The artist has filled in the animals with lovely flowers and motifs to making coloring them even more fun. I am a huge fan of animal scenes and having them with the black background makes this a new and unique book in my coloring collection. There are many animals in the book, including a gorgeous howling wolf, a rabbit, some mice, and even an owl. The animals are set in an imaginative forest with lots of great plants and flowers to color.
Creative Haven books are always a good quality paper and my pencils and gel pens generally work well with them. My markers almost always bleed through. Not too worry, though, as they only print designs on one side of the page. The backside is left blank. If you don’t remove the page from the book to color, you should put a piece of freezer paper, cardstock, chipboard, or even a couple of sheets of good weight paper behind the page as you work so it won’t bleed through to the following page. If you do remove the pages, the publishers have provided nicely perforated pages for easy removal.
Adult Coloring Book: Color Yourself to Calmness – And reduce stress with your animal spirits (Adult Coloring Books)
By: Sue Coccia
Rating: 5 of 5
This is a gorgeous coloring book filled to the brim with beautiful animal designs. Within each animal, are a myriad of other designs. In reading the bio about the artist, I found it really interesting to discover that she starts each design from the middle of the inside designs and does not put the outline of the animal in place until after she has finished everything else. I absolutely love the book and the only drawback is that the designs are printed on both sides of each page. Once I had gone through the book and checked to see what pens worked and didn’t, I made the decision to buy a second copy of the book so that I can have a full choice of which designs I want to color. While the price of the book is not low, the quality of designs and the sheer volume of what you get for the price made it an easy choice for me.
The designs in this coloring book are printed on non-perforated bright white paper that is a fairly heavy stock. The designs are printed on both sides of the page. The drawings are intricately detailed enough that I will use my magnifying lamp for most of them. The coloring book is a sewn-in binding with a thick, hard cardboard cover. It should be fairly simply to cut the binding strings to remove these designs from the book, if you prefer to color pages rather than in a thick book and that is what I will probably do.
The book is broken into six chapters Desert, Prairie and Savannah, Mountains and Woodland, Rainforest, Rivers and Wetlands, and Oceans and Seas. Each chapter has many designs of animals related to those areas. Each of the animals have qualities associated with them and the author lists these along with their names beside their designs. Examples include: Coyote playfulness, trickster, humor; Hawk messenger, warrior, healing; Raccoon opportunism, curiosity, sociability; and Dolphin joy, playfulness, and harmony. The list is very long, so I’ve included a picture of the table of contents for you to view to see which animals are included.
While I am thrilled with the designs in the book, I do note that the details are intricate enough that I will use only ultra fine markers or sharp pointed color pencils to color these designs. My gel pens, while they didn’t leak, did not have fine enough points to get into the nooks and crannies. Also, the decision to print double sided makes it harder to color. I guess the publisher could have provided half as many designs (at the same cost) on one-sided printing and come out with a second book with the remainder of the designs. In that case, I would have bought both books, so buying two of this one puts me in exactly the same place.
Color Christmas Coloring Book: Perfectly Portable Pages (On-The-Go Coloring Book)
By: Thaneeya McArdle
Rating: 5 of 5
This coloring book is smaller book filled with 28 fun and festive Christmas Designs. I have this and Christmas Coloring Book (a full size coloring book) both just released by Thaneeya McArdle. At first glance, one would think that a number of these designs are simply scaled down versions of what is in the larger format book. While that may be true for a few, there are a good number that are simply similar and have details that range from slightly to very different from the other book. There is a lovely range of designs, including Santas, elves, Christmas trees, stockings, fireplace and mantle and even a nutcracker (one of my favorites and the one I will color first.)
The size of this book is perfect for fitting in my purse, backpack, etc. to take along with a set of colored pencils. The book is also a great size to use as a stocking stuffer gift. It, along with an inexpensive set of colored pencils, would be a good Secret Santa gift exchange present.
In addition to the designs, the artist has included lessons in patterning, color techniques and media as well as basic color theory at the front of the book, along with some great color examples (some of which I will show in my attached video.) The lessons are generic to the line but the samples are specific to this book.
The pages are white and are perforated for easy removal. The designs are printed on one side only with holiday and inspiration quotes on the back side. Many of the quotes are from holidays songs and movies which are really fun to read especially the movie quotes as they bring to mind the whole story. Below the quotes are lines which the colorist can use to journal their own thoughts and feelings.
All of my markers and gel pens wick through these pages. If I use either of them, I will put a piece of thicker paper (chipboard, cardstock, etc.) or freezer paper under the page I am working on to keep the following page from getting ink on it.
This coloring book is a set of 32 designs that are wonderful and put me in the festive and holiday spirit. It is one of the books in the Coloring is Fun series by Thaneeya McArdle. I love that the designs are so varied there are Santas, snowflakes, reindeer, Christmas trees, elves, cats, dogs, owls, and so much more!
In addition to the designs, the artist has included lessons in drawing, patterning, color techniques, color combinations and media (including shading) as well as basic color theory at the front of the book, along with some great color examples (some of which I will show in my attached photos and video.) The lessons are generic to the line but the samples are specific to this book. It seems like a great book for trying these techniques. There are so many curves that all of the techniques could be learned and utilized on every design.
The pages are white and are perforated for easy removal. The designs are printed on one side only with holiday and inspiration quotes on the back side. The quotes range from Helen Keller to Dr. Seuss. There are many excerpts from holidays songs and movies which are really fun to read. Below the quotes are lines which the colorist can use to journal their own thoughts and feelings.
All of my markers and gel pens wick through these pages. If I use either of them, I will put a piece of thicker paper or freezer paper under the page I am working on to keep the following page from getting ink on it.
Beautiful Copycat Coloring: Pretty Pictures to Copy and Complete (Barron’s Copycat Coloring)
By: Cindy Wilde
Rating: 5 of 5
This book is being marketed to children by the publisher but as an adult colorist, I like both the pictures and the complexity they provide. The artist is Cindy Wilde who is also an illustrator/artist on other popular adult coloring books. I really enjoy her style of design and found this book while investigating more of her work.
The book is an interesting concept. The design you color is on one side of the page and a colored copy is on the back side of the proceeding page that way you can look at the finished design for inspiration. What it also means is that for me, as an adult colorist, my designs are printed on one side of the page and I don’t have to worry about ruining another design if my inks leak through. Usually, my books have white back pages, so these colorful ones are just pretty filler for me.
There are 24 designs (including the title page with peacocks) that range from buildings to cats to a scarecrow at the end of the book. The designs have a nice amount of complexity without having tiny intricate details. These are perfect for an adult who doesn’t want to strain their eyes or for a teenager or even an advanced younger child.
None of my gel pens nor my water-based markers leaked through on this paper. I didn’t try Sharpies or alcohol based but if I decide to use those, I am pretty sure they will bleed through as they do through almost all paper types. In those cases, I will sacrifice the colored picture and put a piece of chipboard under the design I am working on to keep the ink from leaking further through the book.
The pages are not perforated; however, the binding is sew in and it is very easy to clip the threads (on three different pages) to remove them from the book and cut the pages should you wish to work with single pages at a time.
The paper is quite thick (rather close to being a cardstock weight) and the coloring surface is a soft white as opposed to a bright white. A number of the designs have full or partial black backgrounds. I find that neon colors and pastels really pop on this type background.
I’m really impressed with the quality of this coloring book. I will be buying more in the line as they are released and will also look for more by this artist in the future.
The Sound of Murder (An Ivy Meadows Mystery) (Volume 2)
By: Cindy Brown
Rating: 5 of 5
I don’t know what kind of person can conceive of a mash-up musical play of Cabaret and The Sound of Music, but all I know is she can write a very funny book. That Cindy Brown continued the theme throughout the book literally had me howling with laughter at several points. By the way, this is the first book I have read by this author but it will by no means be the last one. I have already purchased the first book in this series to enjoy but you don’t really need to read it to enjoy this one.
“The Good Goodbye” is the first novel I have read by Carla Buckley. I wasn’t sure is it was a mystery/thriller or fiction/literature. It turns out to be certainly more of the latter than the former. It was almost more about teenagers than it was about adults as the focus of the story was on two younger cousins who were, as they say, “coming of age” during the story.
