This past Christmas, my brother-in-law, Elliott sent me a very unique gift… He sent me two coloring books for grown-ups called Adult Coloring Books and Balance Coloring Book with a great set of Raffine Professional Art Drawing Pencils. At first I was a little skeptical. I wasn’t sure when he thought I’d find the time to sit down and color, but as I thought more about this unique gift, I realized that many times I sit down with my daughter, Morgan to color. Usually, I’m stuck with a My Little Pony Coloring Book or Sophia the First Coloring Book coloring book. Now I had my very own grown-up coloring book… How very exciting!
I couldn’t wait to sit down at our little pink table upstairs and color with Morgan! It was quite different than I thought it would be… Right away, Morgan noticed my coloring book and began eyeing it very carefully. Five minutes in to our coloring session, she wanted my book and was offering to give me hers as a trade. Luckily, my brother-in-law had sent me 2 coloring books (he must’ve known what would happen), so I handed her the second one and we were off on our coloring adventures again. A few minutes later, I noticed her watching me color, and she was now eyeing my colored pencils! No way… I had already given her one of my books, now she wanted my pencils too?
It did not take Morgan long to take over not only my coloring books, but my pencils too!
I’m amazed at how well her tiny little hands can handle the intricate designs in these books!
Sure enough…she wanted my pencils! “They’re so sharp,” she said! “And the colors are so much prettier than my crayons,” she said. How could I say no to my cute little budding artist? So now Morgan and I share many grown-up coloring books, and my special Raffine Pencils. I have since found another grown-up coloring book that I’ve kept to myself (so far)! It is called The Calm Coloring Book. It’s my favorite coloring book because of the designs, and so far, no one knows I have it but me. Hopefully, Morgan won’t be reading this post any time soon!
Just looking at the cover makes me feel all warm and happy…and calm!
Each page in these coloring books takes quite a while to complete – the pictures are very intricate and detailed. And Morgan is right – my colored pencils are prettier and sharper than her crayons, which helps a non-artist like myself to stay inside the lines! I was so surprised that not only did I enjoy sitting down to color, but that I started recommending it to Morgan. I think she was as shocked as I was – – I hardly fit in the tiny chairs (designed for 6-year olds) at our little pink coloring table, so I don’t always recommend that as an activity, but now it didn’t matter so much. I wanted to color – it didn’t matter where.
It’s even more surprising that sometimes, after I finish folding the laundry, I’ll sit at my desk and color a bit of one of the pages I’m working on while I’m watching TV. I can multi-task – – I’ve found that I can color and listen/watch Live with Kelly and Michael all at once. Depending on what they are doing or who they are interviewing, I might have to pause for a few minutes to look up, but mostly, I can be content just listening to them talk while I color. Now, I’m sure the intent of these books is for people to put their phones down, turn their televisions off, and totally chill out and relax. But hey…if you can chill and relax with your phone at your side, the television on, and your coloring book, then why not? And in my house, just having my cell phone and the television is considered a very calm moment!
Since I received the coloring books and the pencils as a gift, I have given it as a gift to several people as well. When I was visiting my sister in Chicago, my niece was so sweetly coloring with Morgan. We were chatting about how much we love to color, and how neat it would be to have a coloring book specifically for older kids. Who knew they already existed? Well now we all do, and they are great! I quickly sent my niece some of her own, so she wouldn’t have to borrow Morgan’s Sophia the First coloring book anymore.
Morgan was so happy to have a new coloring buddy! Logan did not seem to mind the Sophia the First Coloring Book. Cousins are the best!!
I’m also planning to give a similar gift to my children’s friends. They have a great book I found called The Calm Coloring Book for Creative Kids. Maybe…just maybe, if I get one of these for Morgan, she’ll give mine back to me. Probably not, but isn’t it worth a try?? For those of you that are not quite ready to commit to an entire book, I found this cool website at DIY-Candy with links to some free pages. Print some off and give it a try. I know that if you do, it won’t be long before you’re buying an entire book. Coloring pages website. So…get out there, get yourself some grown-up coloring books, some nice, sharp colored pencils, find a quiet place to sit and relax, and START COLORING! Until next time…
