How To Release Your Inner Happy . . .

Like so many other people, I have been bitten by the Adult Coloring Book phenomenon  (For those of you who may be new to this, the name does NOT indicate that the coloring books contain adult content . . .).  There are hundreds of books now on the market with pages of beautiful designs for adults to color, and pictured above are my three current favorites.

Tangled Treasures by Jane Monk contains 52 whimsical designs, featuring flowers, animals, houses, leaves, mandalas, and wallpaper motifs.  Jane's information on basic color principles, techniques, and coloring utensils is invaluable, and the designs are printed on heavy-duty card stock pages that are perforated for easy removal.

Balance by Angie Grace (Volume 1) is filled with amazing mandalas, which I personally find to be very calming and centering to color because of their symmetry and, well, balance.  I found that I was able to use more water-based mediums on these designs if I first copied them to card stock; below is my work-in-progress on one of her drawings.

Color Me Stress Free by Angela Porter is divided into chapters based on some of life's biggest stressors, each with an introduction by the author explaining why these aspects of daily living can add to our stress and how the designs in that chapter were chosen to specifically address those situations.  

All three publications are available from Amazon, and you'll find the link by clicking on each title above.  Also worth noting: The drawings in all three books are printed on one side of the page only, so there's no bleed-through of your color.

And, if you need more coloring inspiration, visit the blog of my dear cyber-friend Jill Buckley -- she has been offering free downloads of pages to color.  Here's the beginning of my version of one of her designs:

Click here for Coloring Page #1, and visit her entire blog here -- you will be amazed and inspired.

And, once you start adding color to these designs, don't be surprised if you find yourself melting into the child you once were.

Diane