Book Review | My Magical Oasis Adult Colouring Book

In June, I wrote about my love for adult colouring books, and six weeks down the line, my love for them hasn't faded. I've put colouring-pencil to paper almost daily over the last few months, and I've enjoyed every therapeutic moment of it. I own a few colouring books now, but when the lovely people at Plexus publishing invited me to review a new colouring book called 'My Magical Oasis'*, I just couldn't say no. 

I've been busy colouring my way through some of the pages over the last few weeks, and the experience has been blissful. In fact, it's probably the most fun I've ever had preparing for a review!

Colouring in a beautiful colouring book like My Magical Oasis isn't a chore, it's a pleasure. You see, it's filled with 101 pretty pictures of flora and fauna that are just waiting to be brought to life with colour. There are a fantastic variety of designs, from dainty flowers to striking animals, intricate feathers, and more zentangles than you can shake a stick at. (I'm not sure why you would shake a stick at a colouring book, but who am I to judge?!)

Most of the pictures are filled with intricate detail which will challenge your ability to stay within the lines. It's harder than you might think! (Tip: use sharpened pencils). Some pages have blank spaces where you can elaborate on the printed picture with your own detail, often accompanied by a few words for inspiration. I think the variety helps to keep the book fresh and interesting, and the designs will challenge your creativity no matter how artistic you are (or aren't).

The pages of the colouring book are made from reasonably thick, good-quality white paper, with the pictures printed back to back. I'd recommend using colouring pencils instead of felt tip pens or fine liners, because the ink will just bleed through the paper and ruin the picture on the other side. I use Crayola colouring pencils, which are a little pricey, but the quality of them is excellent so they are well worth the purchase. You can see for yourselves how bold the colours are in the pictures.

I find colouring-in extremely relaxing and therapeutic and my experience with My Magical Oasis has been no different. Just a few minutes of colouring away at one of its pictures takes me from feeling stressed, upset, or anxious, to calm, care-free, and relaxed! Yes, really! I find concentrating on staying within the lines and creating pretty pictures, distracts me from my thoughts, which helps to aid my mental health, and even take my mind off my chronic pain for a while. I become so relaxed and absorbed in the picture that I can easily lose a few hours to colouring- and believe me, I have! Time well spent, if you ask me. Afterwards, I come back to reality feeling as calm and chilled as a sloth in a snow storm. The difference is amazing, really.

I'm not the only adult who has realised the benefits of colouring. Millions of adults all around the world have returned to the fun childhood pastime for fun and therapy. Adult colouring books have been flying off the shelves these past few months, with some even outselling current bestselling novels and cookery books! My Magical Oasis is a new title, and in my opinion, it's one of the best around at the moment.

If you're looking for a way to relax and de-stress, or just want a fun new hobby, I'd recommend you get yourself a copy of My Magical Oasis and some colouring pencils, sharpish! It's fun, it's affordable, and with 101 pictures to colour in, it will provide you with months of enjoyment.

My Magical Oasis retails for £9.99 / $14.95 and should be available from all good book shops. Find it on Amazon here, and Waterstones here.

Have you got yourself a copy of My Magical Oasis, yet? Do you enjoy colouring in?

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*This copy of My Magical Oasis was gifted to me in exchange for a review. As always, all words, opinions, thoughts, and photos are my own.

Wednesday Wish List

Here are a few things that have caught my eye this week...

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As always, my wish list is mostly made up of lots of gorgeous Lindy Bop and Lady Vintage dresses, and some awesome novelty bags. I never change!

Just a short and sweet one again this week. My hand has been killing me since Sunday afternoon, and typing (and doing anything) with it is pretty painful. I'll explain more another day, but for now, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

What's on your wish list this week?

101 Things I Want To Do Before I Die

I'm not planning on kicking the bucket any time soon, but I have a bucket list that could stretch all the way to Scotland and back. 

I've been feeling quite aspirational recently, and have added so many life goals to the list that it's now over five hundred strong! What can I say? There are just so many things I hope to achieve and experience one day. I'm a dreamer.

I thought it would be fun to share some of my goals with you guys, so here we are. Don't worry, I'm not going to list all 500+, I've chosen a selection and will stop at 101.

FYI, the Listography Travel and My Future books are both brilliant books for recording your travels, and listing some of the things you hope to experience one day.

1. Work in animal care again. Preferably with zoo animals, or in a rescue centre for pets or wildlife.

2. Live by the sea.

3. See the Northern Lights.

4. Own my own home.

5. Take a road trip across America.

6. See all the weird and wonderful Australian marsupials in person.

7. Read the entire works of Stephen King.

8. Achieve complete body confidence.

9. Take a hot air balloon ride.

10. Learn how to make a crochet granny square blanket.

11. Go whale watching. I'd love to see a pod of them breaching the water someday.

12. Take creative writing, art, and photography classes.

13. Get a short story published.

14. Own my first pet dog. Currently in the works.

15. Find that special someone.

16. Learn how to drive.

17. Visit Italy.

18. See Evanescence perform live.

19. Do a parachute jump.

20. Learn how to surf.

21. See New York at Christmas time.

22. Make a patchwork quilt.

23. Visit Paris properly, and do the whole touristy thing. (I've only driven through it by car).

24. Learn how to make jewellery.

25. Go on safari in Africa.

26. Take a road trip around Australia.

27. Get loads more tattoos, including a sleeve, and something Alice in Wonderland themed.

28. Find a way to reduce my pain so I can manage it better, and live a more normal, full life.

29. Own a DSLR and know how to use it properly.

30. Get an African pygmy hedgehog.

31. Take a holiday in Greece. (Read: Wherever Mamma Mia was filmed)!

32. Own a Pin Up Girl Clothing dress. Or sixty.

33. Make a bunch of embroidery hoop art pictures for the wall. I want to have a crack at this soon.

34. Go to a festival.

35. Visit Highgate Cemetery.

36. Sight see around Edinburgh.

37. Work in a zoo.

38. Experience New Year's Eve in New York.

39. Go to the elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka.

40. Learn how to make my own dresses and skirts.

41. Do a bungee jump.

42. See Niagara Falls.

43. Dive the Great Barrier Reef.

44. Learn how to play the piano.

45. See the Grand Canyon.

46. See Wicked at the theatre.

47. Spend a day at a spa.

48. Learn how to ski.

49. Master the art of cake decorating.

50. See the pyramids.

51. See dolphins in the wild.

52. Learn how to make the perfect roast turkey with all the trimmings for Christmas.

53. Do The Sound of Music tour in Austria.

54. Learn how to walk in heels.

55. See a narwhal in real life.

56. Travel on a motorbike.

57. Go out for high tea somewhere fancy.

58. Own a Lulu Guinness lip clutch.

59. Have a house full of animals.

60. Get something resembling a social life.

61. Get toucan tattoos on either side of my collar bones / shoulders.

62. See Panic! at the Disco live.

63. Donate blood.

64. Get more piercings.

65. Learn how to curl my hair so that the curls hold all day or night.

66. Own a pretty, pretty petticoat.

67. Take a road trip around Europe.

68. Learn to bare my legs and arms with complete confidence.

69. Swim with sharks, sea turtles, and tropical fish.

70. Do a 365 photo challenge.

71. Go on the London Eye.

72. Visit Amsterdam.

73. Sleep under the stars during a meteor shower.

74. Learn how to paint properly with water colour, oil, and acrylic paints.

75. Read all of the books I own.

76. Go kayaking and sea kayaking.

77. Visit Land's End.

78. Travel around the beautiful scenery of northern Scotland.

79. Step foot on all 7 continents.

80. Try sushi.

81. Work with giraffes and tapirs.

82. Go to a concert of a band I like outside of the UK and Ireland.

83. Sight see around a city by helicopter.

84. Visit Chicago.

85. See Peter Kay live.

86. Travel first class by plane.

87. See an active volcano.

88. Go white water rafting.

89. Ride a camel in the desert.

90. See a beluga whale in real life.

91. Visit Germany at Christmas time.

92. Spend a day at Harry Potter world.

93. Go horse riding.

94. Visit the village where The Vicar of Dibley was set.

95. Buy house plants and keep them alive.

96. Own my own car.

97. Visit every country in Europe.

98. Take pictures with an underwater camera.

99. Holiday on a tropical island with white sandy beaches and palm trees.

100. Make a rainbow cake.

101. Visit Tokyo.

What's at the top of your bucket list? 

Do we share any of the same goals?

Wednesday Wish List

Hi guys,

I hope you're all having a great week so far. 

Somehow it's already Wednesday again, so I'm back with another one of those Wednesday Wish List things I sometimes do around these parts.

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I'm keeping the words short and sweet today as every bone in my body is causing me a lot of pain and it's making it difficult to type. (I'll be writing a health update soon). 

This week I've been drawn to a mixture of bright pops of colour, pretty pastels, fun prints, quirky accessories, and some truly gorgeous dresses. So, no change there, then! Ha ha! I'm so predictable!

What's on your wish list this week? Which of these do you like best?

Book Review | 642 Tiny Things To Write About

Creative writing has been one of my favourite hobbies for as long as I can remember. From an early age, I could often be found scribbling down stories on to paper, and just letting my imagination run wild, and, well, not much has changed in the last twenty-five years. I write something almost every day. Sure, I'm not the best writer in the world and I never will be, but I enjoy it anyway, and that's all that really matters at the end of the day, right?

I usually have a bunch of ideas orbiting around my head, but there are days when I'm stuck for inspiration, so I love turning to creative journal books filled with prompts for a little help. My latest source of influence is a brilliant little book called 642 Tiny Things To Write About. 

642 Tiny Things To Write About is a follow up to two other Things To Write About books, 642 Things To Write About and 712 More Things To Write About, both of which I love and write from regularly. 

Unlike the first two books in the series, 642 Tiny Things is pocket-sized. It's still packed full of fantastic prompts, but the difference is, each task is designed to be completed in a couple of paragraphs or less, with some requiring just a few words. This means every challenge can be completed in minutes, which is ideal if you don't have much time to spare, or if you just like writing in small doses. You can pop it in your bag, and write whenever you get a burst of inspiration or you have some time to kill- say, on the commute to work. There is space beneath each prompt to write, so you don't need a separate notebook; all you need is a pen and your imagination, and you're good to go!

Some pages are plain, some pages are lined, and each features one to four prompts to write about. There's a great variety of prompts and writing styles to try, which keep things fresh and interesting, and I think they will inspire and challenge both amateurs and advanced writers alike.

Some of my favourite prompts in the book include:

♥ You're going to die next week, and you need to destroy a few things before you family find them. What?

♥ Write a headline for the day after the world ends.

♥ Write a thank you note to your feet for some of the places they've taken you.

♥ What piece of advice do you most often give and least often follow?

♥ It's 2045. Describe a road side attraction on the moon.

♥ A postcard arrives. It was mailed 11 years ago. It reads...

♥ Regardless of where you were born, where do you feel like you're from?

♥ You live in a world in which everyone gets one word tattooed on their forehead. What's the word you pick?

♥ If you could kill off one relative, who would it be?
♥ You come home from a cousin's wedding, where something went tragically wrong. But you're secretly happy that at least something interesting happened. What was it?

And of course, there are more than six hundred other tasks to play with, too.

I'm personally inspired by the majority of them, and there aren't any I dislike. I think I'll eventually make my way through every last one. I've only had the book a week, but I'm having so much fun with it already, and have completed a bunch of tasks in the last few days.

I'd say the book is best aimed at adults, as there are a few prompts about sex, nudity, relationships, and violence. None are particularly graphic. but I'd recommend checking the content over before you give the book to your kids, teenagers, or anybody particularly sensitive.

The book is currently available from Waterstones, although Amazon have the release date as mid September, which is confusing. I'm not sure how easy it is to find UK bookshops right now. but I bought my copy from Wordery on eBay here, where it is currently £6.77. I received my order in five days, and had no problems with them at all.

I'd recommend 642 Tiny Things To Write About to any adult who enjoys creative writing, particularly those who have limited time to spare for the hobby, but still want to write.

Are you a creative writer? Where do you turn for writing inspiration?

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