Christmas To Color By Mary Tanana Adult Christmas Colouring Book Review

Last Christmas, I treated myself to a stunning Christmas colouring book called Christmas To Color by Mary Tanana, and while I was eager to show it to you guys a year ago, I never did find the time to review it for you before Christmas was over. I wasn't going to miss the opportunity again, so I'm better prepared this Christmas, and here to review it for you today.

Christmas To Color is a beautifully illustrated Christmas colouring book for adults by American artist Mary Tanana, and it's without a doubt the most beautiful Christmas colouring book I've ever laid eyes on. 

It's filled with page after page of intricate, folky line-drawings of festive scenes and paraphernalia that are just waiting to be brought to life with colour. From wreaths and reindeer, to baubles and stockings, Nutcrackers and Christmas trees, to sledges and poinsettias. its 84 pages are filled with everything you'd associate with a traditional Christmas, and all the Christmas illustrations you could ever hope to colour-in. 

Tanana's stunning illustrations have, naturally, been inspired by the Christmas season, and are also heavily influenced by nature, Eastern European folk art, and delicate henna designs from India, which is clear to see on every page. All of the pictures have a wonderful folky festive feel to them with intricate detail, and you'll find flora or fauna added to almost every design. They're truly beautiful, and every picture is so festive, that they'll have you in the Christmas spirit in no time!



As the images feature so much detail, Christmas To Color is aimed at adults, but would also be suited to older children and teenagers with some artistic talent and a lot of patience. Each page will take hours or days to complete, so this is not the colouring book for quick results, but perfect if you're happy to take your time and see your work gradually come together. The great thing about that is this colouring book will provide you with weeks or even months of entertainment, so you really get your money's worth from it. It's going to keep you entertained throughout the festive season, and long after Christmas is over, so you'll be able to return to it again next Christmas, too!



The illustrations are printed back-to-back on thick, good-quality white paper, which, unfortunately, is not quite thick enough to prevent bleed-through with some inks. You may wish to stick to coloured pencils to avoid ruining the design on the other side. I've started using watercolour paints to colour in the designs, and I find the paper accepts watercolours well with very little damage to the paper- although, I always pop a sheet of watercolour paper behind the page while I'm painting to be on the safe side.



What I didn't realise until recently, is the pages are discreetly perforated, so you can easily pull out the pages for framing, pinning on the wall, scrapbooking, or for enjoying a colouring session with friends or family. You may have to flip a coin to decide which side to display, but it's ideal if you like to make use of your colourings once you've finished them.



I haven't actually added a lot of colour to this colouring book yet as the arthritis in my hands has become so bad I've had to give up colouring with pens and pencils altogether (it's become too painful and turns my hands in to claws), but I'm hoping to find some time to relax with it this Christmas, and paint my way through a few pages to destress.

Colouring-in is the perfect hobby for destressing at this time of year, as it's so relaxing and therapeutic, and can easily be fitted around other tasks on your to-do-list. You could steal ten minutes in between decorating the tree and waiting for your Christmas cookies to bake, relax with it in front of the TV, and even enjoy it while travelling to see family this Christmas. If you always get super stressed at Christmas time, I recommend you give colouring a try- trust me, it helps!



Christmas To Color is a fantastic adult Christmas colouring book. It's stunning, it's festive, it's great-quality, and guaranteed to get you in to the Christmas spirit and give you hours of entertainment. It's one of the best Christmas colouring books around at the moment, and I couldn't recommend it to you more!

Christmas To Color by Mary Tanana retails for $15.99, and should be available from all good book shops now. I bought my copy from Amazon here.

Will you be relaxing with an adult colouring book this Christmas?

Christmas Colouring Book Reviews You Might Also Like
Escape To Christmas Past
Johanna's Christmas by Johanna Basford
Zen Colouring Winter Wonderland

Currently | October 2017

It's been ages since my last 'currently' post, so I thought it was about time I sat down to chat about some of the things I've been enjoying lately, and to fill you in on what's been happening, so here we are. 

Let's get cracking!

Reading

I recently finished This Must Be The Place by Maggie O' Farrell and The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks, and last weekend I finished another Maggie O' Farrell novel called The Distance Between Us. I really enjoyed all three of them, but particularly The Distance Between Us, which I couldn't put down. I've now moved on to The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, although I'm only a few pages in so far.  I got hooked on the TV show, so I just had to give the book a read, too.

Watching

I've watched quite a lot of new-to-me films over the last couple of months including Passengers, The Arrival, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Bridget Jones' Baby, The BFG, Ghostbusters, Moana, Finding Dory, Beauty and the Beast, Doctor Strange, Allegiant Part One, The Visit, and Gravity, to name a few. As for TV programmes, I haven't been watching a lot, but I really enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale. It was really heavy and totally fucked up, but just too good to stop watching.

Listening

Since Chester Bennington committed suicide in July, I've mostly just been listening to is Linkin Park's back catalogue on repeat, but I guess there's nothing new about that! I'm still playing the latest album 'One More Light' to death, but now the lyrics are heartbreaking because you can hear how much he was suffering, where as before they were just great songs. Heavy and One More Light kinda break my heart.

Stitching

I recently finished the rainbow Spectrum mandala cross stitch from The World In Stitches that I shared a peek at in my last 'Currently' post and blogged about in full here. I've also just completed a little colourful fox cross stitch from the same company, and now I've gone back to a Christmas sampler I began earlier in the year.

Painting

It's been several months since I started painting again, and I've been enjoying it so much, I've been painting fairly regularly ever since. I finished the compass canvas I showed you a couple of months ago, and have now moved on to another Johanna Basford canvas with a pretty seahorse design. I've gone for a colour scheme of yellows, oranges, pinks, and purples, and I've gotta say, it's so much fun painting with such pretty colours!

Looking

forward to Autumn, and all the good Autumn things. Colourful foliage, candles, cosy blankets, pumpkins, fireworks, hot drinks, comfort food, chunky knits, wearing gloves with everything, layers, Autumn colours, jewel colour nail polishes, cosy nights in, ankle boots, Autumn walks... all the good stuff.

Planning

lots of blog posts for Autumn and Christmas. Whether I'll be well enough to blog them all is another question! (Although, I've already got two Christmas posts scheduled, so I'm doing okay so far!)

Enjoying
Spending the dark Autumn evenings curled up under a blanket crafting, watching movies, and reading with some candles burning. I hate the dark evenings, but spending them like this is oh so cosy.

Wishing
I had gone to see Linkin Park at the O2 like I'd planned on July 3rd, instead of being sensible and avoiding London because of the risk of another terrorist attack. I am even more bummed out about this now Chester has died, and I'll never get another chance to see them play live together as a six-piece. Even if Linkin Park continue without Chester, which I think they will, it'll never be the same again. Lesson learned: never let anyone talk you out of something you really want to do!

Buying

I haven't been able to shop much lately as I still don't have two pennies to rub together, but I spent my birthday money on the Too Faced Chocolate Bar and NYX Ultimate Brights eyeshadow palettes in July, and they're both absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait to play with all of the shadows, but in true blogger style, I need to take blog photos first so I can review them both for you! I also just treated myself to a pretty Sass and Belle jewellery dish baring the words 'follows your dreams', using some of the vouchers I earned from Swagbucks... mostly to use as a blog photo prop!

Needing

I've just worn a hole through my favourite duvet cover, so I'm in desperate need of some new bedding. I'm also in need of some new ballet pumps as my last good pair have fallen apart, and could do with some hair dye as my roots are getting ridiculous. I also need some money so I can afford the things I need; having no money sucks and it's getting problematic.

Wondering

how much money I could get for a kidney...

Wanting

I'm dying to get my hands on the Essie nail polish Advent calendar that's just been released, but it's £80 (currently on promo for £50) and I'm skint, so I'll have to start saving. I'd also love to get my hands on the Ciaté calendar when it comes out. And maybe the OPI Advent calendar, too. Okay, just give me all of the beauty Advent calendars; I want them all!

Winning

I won a set of three purple, blue, and white ombre swarovski glass nail files from Mont Bleu on Twitter a couple of months ago, which was awesome because I love their nail files- they're the best I've ever used. They're so gentle on the nails, and easy to use for great results, even if you're useless at nail filing like me. I keep the small one in my handbag for nail emergencies on the go, and use the medium and large for every day filing at home. I love them!

Wearing

I've barely left the house in the last couple of months, so I've mostly just been living in my pyjamas. I'm currently wearing a pink flamingo motif vest top and raspberry heart print PJ bottoms; they're so comfy!

Worrying

about my heart which is still racing away eight months on. I still don't know why it's happening or what's causing it, but I'm becoming more and more sure that electronics are to blame. I'm struggling to go near my laptop, phone, Kindle, TVs, even the sockets for any length of time because I can feel the electrical energy coming off them all, and my body keeps picking it up and buzzing like pins and needles from the static electricity. The longer I spend on electronics, the faster my heart gets, so I'm having to limit the amount of time I spend on them, which isn't ideal when you're a blogger (it's the reason I've not blogged a lot lately), but my heart becomes steadier the longer I stay off them. It's been happening for about two or three months now, although I'd been having these issues with my laptop for most of the year. It probably sounds absolutely bizarre and you're wondering if I've lost the plot- I'm feeling like maybe I have- but I think I may be on to something here. I asked my doctor if it could be the cause, but she's never heard of this happening before so she's unconvinced, but hasn't ruled it out. My heart is apparently healthy, my bloods and blood pressure are normal, I've cut out caffeine and stopped taking the medication I thought was to blame, so I'm running out of other explanations, and I just have a gut feeling that I'm right. Have you ever experienced any issues with electrical energy from gadgets before or is it just me?

Before I go, I just want to say 'thank you' for all of your kind comments after I experienced Paypal / eBay fraud last month. I thought you might like to know I managed to get everything refunded thanks to Paypal and the three very understanding eBay sellers, but unfortunately, I still have to pay the fees for going over my planned overdraft limit because of it- which I can't afford because I haven't got any money coming in. I spent 45 minutes on the phone to the bank being passed from person to person, but they didn't give a shit, and wouldn't help. I consider myself lucky to have got the transactions refunded, but the overdraft fees are still a headache I don't need. Still, it could've been worse and I could've been out of pocket for all of it... so I'm grateful for that... and hopeful karma will get the thieving twat in the end! 

So, that is what I've been up to lately. What's been going on in your life?

What are you currently enjoying?

Currently | May 2017

I can't remember the last time I sat down and wrote a 'Currently' post, where I chat about some of the things I've been doing lately, so I think it's about time I rectified that with a fresh new Currently post. This is what I've been getting up to lately...

Reading

I recently finished The Land of Later on by Anthony Weller, and Room by Emma Donoghue, both very different, but really enjoyable reads. The Land of Later on is about a chronically ill man who has just committed suicide trying to find the love of his life in the afterlife, and Room is a fictional story about a woman who has been held captive in a shed for seven years with her five year old son, through the eyes of the little boy who knows nothing of the world but Room, as he tries to process the world he's never been exposed to. I couldn't put either of them down; they were both harrowing and thought-provoking reads. I've just started reading This Must Be The Place by Maggie O' Farrell, which I'm only about a dozen pages or so in to, but already hooked on.

Watching
I haven't really been watching anything new on TV, but I'm loving the latest series of The Big Bang Theory, and got in to Timeless when it aired a couple of months ago. I have watched quite a few new-to-me movies, though, including A Theory of Everything, and Me Before You, (both of which had me bawling my eyes out), Room, The Choice, 3996 Days, and a bunch of other stuff I had ready to list in my head, but suddenly can't recall now I need to. Damn brain fog. I'm dying to check out La La Land, Fantastic Beasts, Beauty and the Beast, 13 Reasons Why, and The Keepers.

Listening

I downloaded Linkin Park's new album 'One More Light' on Friday which I'm obsessed with already, and I can't wait for Fall Out Boy's new album which is due out in September. I also really like Paramore's new single,  and I really need to check out their new album. I've not been impressed with a lot of other new music lately, so I've mostly been listening to the back catalogues of both LP and FOB on repeat, which I do often because their music never fails to make me happy.

Eating

a bag of Milka Mini Eggs, the last of my Easter chocolate. They're soooo good!

Wearing

a pair of raspberry-pink heart print pyjama bottoms and a navy PJ vest top. They totally don't match, but they were the only ones that were clean. And yes, I'm wearing PJs in the middle of the afternoon. What of it?

Stitching

I'm currently working on a rainbow spectral mandala from The World In Stitches, after recently finishing a geometric heart, and a geometric squares kit from the same company. I also have a flamingo picture on the go that I need to return to and finish, but I've put it aside for now as I needed a break from the repetition of sewing a sea of turquoise.

Painting

As I said in my Random Things Haul post last week, I've just started watercolour painting again, and have began painting a Johanna Basford canvas with a compass and nature design using my new Winsor & Newton watercolour paints. I'm making a complete mess of it, but I'm really enjoying painting again, and I'm sure I'll improve my technique again in time. I can already see an improvement in the sections I've painted over the last few weeks. I can't believe I left it so long to get back in to it; I'm finding it so therapeutic and relaxing!

Looking

forward to getting away to Cornwall for a week's holiday next month. I've not had a holiday since I developed chronic pain and chronic illness, so if I make it there, it'll be my first holiday in almost six years and my first to Cornwall in seven. I'm unsure how I'm going to manage the journey, let alone a week's holiday, and I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to cope with, but fingers crossed I'll find a way to power on through the pain, and get out and about to some of my favourite places (and maybe a few new ones) while I'm there. I know I'll do my best because I love Cornwall so much, and I won't be able to resist the siren call of my favourite places in favour of wasting the whole holiday lounging around a caravan. Ah, I'm so excited!

Planning

To go see Linkin Park play live in London in July as a birthday treat, providing we can get tickets, of course. I've seen them live twice before, and they've always been amazing live, so I can't wait for round three. I'm also making plans for Cornwall, sketching out future blog posts, and thinking about how to redesign the blog.

Craving

the feeling of sand beneath my feet, the sun on my skin, the sound of the ocean, the smell of salt water, the tides lapping around my feet in the surf, the cry of seagulls, and the scent of coconut sun tan lotion. I'm specifically craving Perranporth beach in Cornwall, but any sandy beach would do right about now. I'm not fussy. Hopefully I'll be able to satisfy my cravings in a few weeks when I go to Cornwall with a trip to the beach. If not I'll cry.

Buying 

I haven't bought a whole lot lately as money is really tight, but I treated myself to this Boohoo Plus smock dress last week after selling some old stuff on eBay, and managed to get my hands on a few of the Sleeping Beauty Tsum Tsums that went on sale last Tuesday. I'll give you a peek at them on Instagram when they get here. You can see some of the other things I've acquired lately in my Random Things Haul.

Needing

some new dresses, cropped cardigans, underwear, bedding, a new chest of drawers, a beach bag, a shower, a hair cut, some fresh air, a painkiller that actually kills pain, a concert fix, a new camera (Rosie broke mine), a good night's sleep, some excitement in my life... lots of things. Everything is on it's last legs, including me.

Wanting
I'm dying to get my hands on this poppy red maxi dress from Boohoo, this dress from Lindy Bop, this dress and this dress from Lady Vintage, the Too Faced Sweet Peach eyeshadow palette, this sewing box house from Cath Kidston, these Cath Kidston brooches, this flamingo pool float novelty bag from Skinny Dip, and some more Johanna Basford canvases to paint.

Wishing

I was rich and could afford everything I need and want. That would be the life. 

Loving

Linkin Park's new album 'One More Light'. It was released on Friday and OMG I'm loving it so much already. It's so uplifting and melodic, with some beautiful vocals from Chester- although not enough from Mike for my liking. As seems to be the tradition, it has a completely different sound to anything they've ever done before, and it couldn't be more different to their last album 'The Hunting Party', which was an epic album with a heavier rock and metal sound. I admit I'm a little disappointed by the total lack of rock tunes- I thought there'd at least be a couple- but I actually love the way they keep evolving their music. Once again they've nailed it. I have a feeling I'm going to be playing this album to death from now on.

Worrying

about my heart rate, which is still racing like crazy three months on. To be honest, it's scaring the shit out of me. It's been so fast the last few nights I've barely slept; I'm shattered. I just want everything to go back to normal, and to find out what the hell is going on with my body. I'll finally be meeting with a cardiologist on Wednesday, so hopefully I'll finally get some answers and some way of getting it under control, because I'm not enjoying this so much.

Crying

with laughter because my dog just threw a treat across the room to pounce on it. (She's developed a new habit of playing with her food). It landed under the open door of her crate, and now she's barking, howling, and making the funniest noises in despair at it because she wants the treat but is afraid to go near the open door. She cracks me up.

Teaching

I've just started working on recall with Rosie (again) because she still doesn't come when you call her, and it's time we cracked it. We have a huge garden so she has plenty of space to run around off the lead at home, but it would be great to give her the freedom to walk off the lead in public, and know she'll stay safe and come back. I've started getting her to come to me using treats and the clicker while I'm playing with her in the garden, but I'll probably look in to getting a long lead, and a dog whistle to gain a bit more control, especially for longer distances.

Clearing

out some of my old and unwanted things in an attempt to declutter, and raise a little extra cash. And I've also been having a good clean up of files on my laptop to try to declutter my virtual life, and get organised, too.

Scheduling 

some Sunday Favourites posts ahead of time for when I'm away, so I don't have to stress about throwing them together at the last minute. You'd be surprised how long they can take to assemble sometimes. I've been known to lose whole days to one post.

Wondering

how my appointment with the cardiologist is going to go on Wednesday, what their prognosis will be, and what might happen next.

Enjoying

the longer hours of daylight we've been having lately, and the sunshine streaming through my window today. I don't know why extended hours of daylight, blue skies and sunshine make such a difference to my moods, but they really do.

What have you been up to lately? Let me know what you're currently enjoying in the comments below!

Random Things Haul

It's been ages since I last blogged a haul- mostly because I've not had much money to spend in what feels like eternity. I haven't been able to buy any clothes or beauty products in ages, but I have got my hands on a few little bits and pieces lately, so I thought I'd do a random things haul. It features craft supplies, stationery, a couple of Tsum Tsums, and the cutest turtle key ring, which I think I'll start with first...

I tagged along to Bicester Village with Marie the weekend before last, and I fell in love with the most adorable turtle-shaped coin purse in Kate Spade. I wanted to take it home so badly, but sadly, being poor, I couldn't afford the £70 outlet price tag, so Marie treated me to this ridiculously cute keyring in the same design to make up for it. I adore it; look how cute the little guy is! He was originally £55, which I would never dream of spending on a keyring, but the outlet price of £27 was far more reasonable, and I personally think it's worth the price because it's so beautifully made and the quality just shines through. Big sisters have their perks sometimes! Thanks, sis!

While I was at Bicester Village, I fed my notebook and Cath Kidston addictions further by treating myself to these two notebooks from its Cath Kidston outlet shop. Did I need new notebooks? Yes, I did! No, I did not, but I just couldn't help myself. I have an inability to resist new notebooks. I may have a problem. I was able to snap up a hardback heart-print Minnie and Mickey Mouse notebook from the recent Disney collection on sale for £6, which I quickly made a bee-line for because I wanted and missed out on one when they first went on sale before Christmas, so I left a happy bunny. There was a table full of items from the Mickey Mouse collection, so if you're still searching for a particular piece, it's could be worth paying Bicester Village a visit. I also picked up a softback floral notebook for £4, because Cath K's softback thin-ruled notebooks are my favourite to write in. Both notebooks are thin-ruled, and have red polka dot borders; they're so pretty! £10 well spent, me thinks.

I also bought a blue floral pen pot from Cath Kidston for £2.50, as I've been wanting one for ages. Now I've got one, I actually can't decide whether to use it for pens or for my make up brushes. I guess I should've bought two.

One of my new year's resolutions was to get back in to painting again, so I recently treated myself to a new watercolour palette with some of the Amazon vouchers I earned through Swagbucks to encourage myself to do so. I bought the Winsor & Newton Cotman 45 half pan water colour palette, a gorgeous set with 45 paints in 40 different colours plus 5 duplicates of popular colours like black and white, which also has a removable mixing palette for easy cleaning. I bloody love it! It's hard to see how beautiful and brightly-coloured the paints are in the palette as most of them look deceivingly dark, so I swatched them all to show you how gorgeous they are. Just look at all that colour! They're all highly-pigmented, so a little goes a long way, and they paint and mix like a dream. I've already used them several times since I bought them a fortnight ago, although I'm still working on my technique, and have a lot to relearn. The set was £27.29, but was originally £89.99 (!), so I got an amazing bargain, and it should in theory last for life as the pans are replaceable. I couldn't recommend this set more.

I also got myself some new paint brushes after realising I didn't have a decent set to work with. I didn't buy anything fancy; just a basic Winsor and Newton set of three round and three flat grey foundation water colour brushes, setting me back just £7.85. They're fantastic brushes, and I'm really impressed with them so far; they're just so lovely to paint with, and excellent quality. The bristles were mustard yellow to begin with, but I was so eager to start painting, I didn't take a photo of them before I first used them.

On my last visit to Hobbycraft, I discovered Johanna Basford, the illustrator behind those popular adult colouring books, also has a range of canvases featuring her designs, and I just couldn't leave without one in the compass design. They appealed to me because I'm not the greatest sketcher in the world, and the pre-printed design allows you to paint something pretty without the effort of drawing first. It seemed like a great way to ease myself back in to art again, and I was right! I mean, I'm making a total mess of it as my watercolour skills and technique need a lot of improvement, but I'm enjoying giving it a go. I've only painted a small section so far, and need to build up and even out the colours and add shading, but I'm hoping the end result won't look too bad. Although, if what I've done so far is anything to go by, it's going to look like a five year old made it! Haha! I suck at art. I'm definitely going to pick up a couple more of these canvases on my next trip to Hobbycraft, though, because I'm really enjoying myself, and I think they're fab! You can buy the compass canvas online here.

Speaking of canvases, I found these two Cosmo Cricket canvases in the sale in Hobbycraft for £2.50 each back in April. The words and the flamingo are pre-printed on the canvases, and you bring them to life with your own watercolour designs. I've never seen anything like them before, but they look like fun, and I thought they'd be a good challenge to attempt. I really love the flamingo quote and design.

On that shopping trip, I also picked up the Easter fat quarters, felt, and embroidery hoops I used for my Easter hoop art, plus some ribbons, and a set of Easter cake cases.

And I finally got my hands on the Cheshire Cat and White Rabbit Tsum Tsums, which I've been trying to track down without spending a fortune since they went on sale last year. They made a reappearance on the Disney Store website a few weeks ago, so I quickly snapped them up, and now I finally have the whole collection of Alice in Wonderland series two Tsum Tsums! This makes me happy. Alice in Wonderland has always been one of my most favourite Disneys, so I'm all over anything related to the movie, and the Tsum Tsums are particularly adorable. These two are still available on the website, along with Alice and The Mad Hatter, so snap them up now or risk missing out!

What random things have you been buying lately?

Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom Adult Colouring Book Review

Hello, my name is Louise, and I love to colour things in.

Should I have admitted to that at the age of almost-thirty? Sure, I'm not embarrassed to admit it.

Colouring isn't just for kids anymore. There are dozens if not hundreds of colouring books aimed specifically at adults, and over the last year or two, adult colouring books have turned in to a craze. More and more adults are returning to the childhood pastime for fun and therapy. You only need to check out a few lifestyle blogs to see how popular they've become with us grown-ups.

Me? I picked up my first colouring book as an adult (this one) about a year and a half ago- although I'd secretly wanted to get one for years. And you know what? I'm really glad I (eventually) gave in. It only took a few minutes of colouring for me to remember how fun it used to be, and on that first day I coloured for three hours straight without even realising the time had passed.

I realised that colouring isn't just fun and oddly satisfying, but that it's extremely therapeutic, too. Within just a few minutes of putting pencil to paper, I find that it helps me to destress and forget my worries, even when my head has been spinning with a thousand difficult thoughts all day. (Which is often!) The stress, and the anxieties dissipate, the weight on my shoulders lifts, and I just feel completely relaxed and calm. I don't know why, but the pastime really does aid my mental health, and I've heard others say the same! Now whenever I'm stressed or struggling mentally, I try to reach for the colouring book and pencils for a session of therapy. I only wish I'd returned to the childhood hobby sooner.

At the moment, I'm loving Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom colouring book, which is filled with gorgeous, intricate pictures of animals and plants. The drawings are made up of leaves, flowers, and a variety of different patterns, and they really are lovely to work on. It's the perfect book if you want to create pretty pictures but don't have a talent for drawing. (That's me, alright!) 

Each page can take hours to complete, so this colouring book should keep even the fastest artist busy for weeks or even a couple of months. I've barely made a dent in mine, and I've done a little colouring almost daily over the last month or so. The paper is fairly thick and decent quality, although I wouldn't advise using felt tip pens because the pictures are back to back. I like to use colouring pencils, although it's definitely best to invest in a good quality set for best results. I've wasted money on crap cheap sets, and have just given in and bought a big set of Crayolas. (Why are they so expensive??)

I bought my copy from Sainsburys for just £4 (RRP £9.99), and it's currently available on Amazon here. I think it's a great colouring book for adults, but I think it would appeal to some older kids, and teens, too. If you're looking for a way to relax and destress, I think this colouring book might be for you!

Have you jumped on the colouring-book bandwagon yet? Do you enjoy colouring in your spare time?

Book Review: 642 Things to Draw

It's been a while since my last book review, but rather than rectifying that with a novel review, I'm here to tell you about a fun, creative book instead. It's called: 642 Things To Draw.

642 Things To Draw is an inspirational sketch book packed full of prompts to inspire and encourage its owner to draw. Rather than just being a collection of inspiring words and ideas, the book is designed to be used as a sketch book, with room beneath each prompt to complete each one.

If you're like me, you might long to draw but often lack the inspiration when you pick up your sketchbook; there's only so many fruit bowls and wine bottles you can draw before you get bored and give up altogether. Sound familiar? If it does, then I think this could be the perfect book for you.

With 642 different prompts to work through, this book is a great source of inspiration for beginners and pros alike, and it should keep even the most productive artists busy for months, if not years. It includes a wide range of different topics, such as: animals and people, landscapes and buildings, food, every day objects, emotions, body language, fantasy, and so much more. They've got everything covered! The wide variety of subjects helps to keep the sketchbook interesting, and also challenging- well, at least for amateurs like myself!

The pages each feature one to four things to draw, and are neatly divided by thin black lines in to halves, thirds, or quarters (when more than one topic fills a page). The space provided for sketching is limited when the pages are divided in to three or four, but the advantage is that most tasks can be completed in a relatively short space of time- which is ideal if your time to draw is limited.

Here's just a selection of the prompts included in the book:

♥ A crash test dummy.
♥ Sea spray.
♥ A circus.
♥ Freckles.
♥ Unmentionables.
♥ A narwhal.
♥ Head in the clouds.
♥ A scream.
♥ A gravestone.
♥ The view from an airplane window.
♥ A tattoo.
♥ A celebration.
♥ A spiral staircase.
♥ Best friends.
♥ Polka dots.
♥ A lemon meringue pie.
♥ A Beatles song.
♥ A shoulder shrug.
♥ Tears.
♥ Hills and valleys.

What I love about this book is that the majority of the topics are suitable for artists (or budding artists) of all ages and skill. Some prompts are easy, others more complex, but you're free to interpret each prompt in your own way and draw in your own style, at your own level; you don't need to be Van Gough or Banksy to give them a go. You should be able to complete many of the topics at home, but you could also carry the book around with you, completing tasks as and when you find the inspiration. It's totally up to you!

I bought this book because I used to really enjoy drawing, but I haven't picked up a pencil or paint brush in several years. My art supplies are just gathering dust, and I'm eager to start using them again. I knew I needed a little help with inspiration, though, so having already gotten a lot out of the Things To Write books, I knew this book would be the ideal way for me to slowly ease my way back in to art. 

I'm not a great artist by any means, but using 642 Things To Draw is a great way for me to give it a shot, practise, and attempt to draw a bunch of things I've never drawn before. I haven't drawn anything worth sharing yet, but I'm looking forward to working on more this Spring and Summer when the days stretch out and the daylight is better quality to work from. There are so many interesting things to draw in this book, and I plan to eventually work my way through all of them. Although, knowing me, it'll probably take me a while!

I think 642 Things to Draw is a fantastic inspirational sketch book for any person who loves to draw; and it's a great book to challenge yourself with if you're looking for something new to try this year.

There are a couple of other books in the series, too, including 642 Places to Draw, 642 Fashion Things to Draw, and 712 More Things to Draw, which are all available through Amazon.

Have you got a copy of 642 Things to Draw, yet?