Flowers, gardens, butterflies

Here’s another coloring book I found on NetGalley. Actually, it’s another one from the River Grove Books, you can check my review of Meditations through Coloring. Just like that one “Coloring for all seasons” is an ebook only [unless you live in the US and are lucky enough to be accepted as a reviewer by the publisher]. That means I’ll be telling you mostly about the designs and some traits of the book that can be checked via Amazon, like the size and page count. 

Coloring for All Seasons: Spring by River Grove Books

My rating: 

Goodreads | Amazon

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is all about spring and nature. Images are filled with flowers, butterflies and cute animals. Mostly flowers, though. Just like in the other book by River Grove this one also begins with an introduction about springtime in various places and cultures. It’s short but interesting.

The size

8,5 x 8,5 inches (about 22 x 22cm) which makes it rather small, but the designs leave just enough place to color, so it might actually be a good size.

The page count

This book has 96 pages filled with images, which I find is a great amount. Enough to keep you busy for a while and to help you relax while coloring.

The designs

Since images are the key point of coloring books these should be something that grabs you attention, makes you eyes hungry and makes you want to pick up your favorite coloring medium and bring these black and white pages to life.

Some of these images can do so, but not as many as I’d like. Some of the images look a bit too messy. On some of them, the artist tries to show the shading on the flowers and it makes them darker, filled with lines that colorists don’t really need.

I found only a few unique images here, most of them looked rather similar and I think variety is needed in coloring books.

The images are still pretty and they will bring lots of joy while coloring. I’d love to get my hands on the ones with butterflies – these were one of the unique images that really grabbed my attention.

To sum it up

Size ★★★☆☆
Page count ★★★★★
Designs ★★★☆☆

Schedules and coloring

Today I have for you a little something that will not only help you relax but will also keep your schedule – a calendar with 52 illustrations you can color throughout the whole year.

I couldn’t find a worldwide edition of it, so I’m adding a scanned cover of my book. It seems my scanner has some messed up color setting and it changed the colors to more vivid, but you’ll get the idea. The graphics included in this calendar were all created by Marica Zottino. You can check out her coloring books here.

2016: 52 Weeks With Drawings That Inspire
Author: Marica Zottino

Goodreads | Amazon US

Overall rating: 

The size

22.5 x 17.5 cm

Yes, it’s not big, but it is a calendar, it was meant to be carried around, so I find this size perfect. It manages to combine just enough space for your weekly schedule on one page and a lovely graphic you can color on the other. And there are even two extra pages for your notes at the end.

The page count

I’m guessing you already know the amount ;). The good thing is – the images are only on one side, so if you’re not that much into keeping your notes clean, you can color the images with whatever medium you want.

Color my whiskers

The time has come to present you second coloring book I grabbed. This time, it’s not a review copy, but it was bought online, so I didn’t know exactly what I’m going to get. But after this little review – you will.

I should probably warn you – I will experiment a little with the format of the coloring books reviews because I feel like I should remember to mention certain things, like paper quality, size, etc, but I still haven’t found the best way to do so.

Cats: 70 Designs to Help You De-Stress
Author: Hamlyn

Goodreads | Amazon US

Overall rating: 

The size

8.4 x 8.4 inches, or in more understandable system: 21 x 21 cm

As you can see it’s not a big book. It is good to carry it with you though, so I guess it has its advantages. But since I’m doing all my coloring at home I do appreciate big books, especially when the designs are very detailed and most of these are, but more about this later.

The page count

The book has 72 pages and each of them has a new, lovely design on it. But as it is with most of the coloring books, each page is printed from both sides, so if you’re thinking about framing your finished work you will have to choose which of the two images are more worthy.

Relax, it’s coloring time

Today I’ve got something new for you – a coloring book. I know it might be unexpected, but I always liked coloring and it seems it became at thing lately, so now It’s a bit easier to find new fantastic patterns in actual book format. I don’t have to browse the net and print out pictures (I’m still going to do this, but that’s not the point).

We don’t have that many of these in Poland yet, but they’re coming. Once bookstores started selling them, they will not stop if there’s still profit :P.

But the one I’m going to present you hasn’t come to us yet. I can only review a digital copy, so I won’t tell you how the paper feels and how good it will work with different coloring media, but I can tell you about the designs included here.

Meditations through Coloring by River Grove Books

My rating:

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

At the beginning, you’ll find a short introduction about meditation and the designs included in this book. I think it’s a nice touch and as a plus side – it has flower designs on the side, so if you’re not into reading it you can simply color those designs and maybe you’re eyes will wander to the text part too.