A coloring book for grown-ups: Secret Garden review

When I was a kid, I used to love coloring. Well, I loved drawing and painting free-hand, too, but a really good coloring book was always a treat. Once my family got a home computer, I even started printing and stapling together my own coloring books from clip art images. Those were the days!

Most kids tend to like coloring books - they're usually a safe bet for gifts to kids you don't know too well.  Have you noticed though, that as you grow up, you're supposed to stop liking them? Either you turn your love of drawing into a serious endeavor and attempt to become an "artist" (in which case coloring books are frowned upon because they're obviously not original art), or you just grow up, cut your hair, get a job and prepare for a life without this childhood treat. How sad is that?

Lately, though, I've seen a lot of  books which challenge the idea that coloring is just for kids. More and more coloring books are cropping up that are completely geared towards the adult population. Yay!

A few months ago, I picked this fantastic coloring book by artist and illustrator Johanna Basford. It's English title is Secret Garden, and it really reminds me of the classic children's book with the same name - which, incidentally, is one of my favorite books ever! What can I say, I'm a child at heart...

The pages in this coloring book are really beautiful and very intricate - there's a reason this book is not marketed towards six-year-olds! At 96 pages it's really thick, and since the pictures are so complex you really get a lot of bang for your buck! Animals and plants are (obviously) the main theme of the Secret Garden, and I love Johanna's drawing style. Flowers, leaves, vines and bugs intertwine into gorgeous designs that will keep you busy for hours. 

I use regular colored pencils or my Derwent Inktense pencils (dry, not wet) in my book - the pages are not super thick, so I'm not sure how well they would hold up to paint or markers. Plus, the book is the perfect thing to keep your hands busy in the evenings in front of the TV, so colored pencils are really the easiest way to go.

Aren't these pages just great? I definitely recommend checking this book out! If you'd like to try some coloring yourself but you don't feel up to buying an entire book, there's a  really sweet giveaway on Johannas blog - have a look here to download a Valentine's themed coloring page. I promise, once you get started you won't be able to stop!

Wreck this Journal, NordicCraft style!

There's still one thing from my London trip I haven't blogged about: I finally got a Wreck This Journal! I've been eying these creative journals by Keri Smith for years, but I always felt that it seemed frivolous to spend money on something I knew I would "wreck" in the end. But on our London trip I finally broke down and got one. And I know I'm a bit late jumping on the bandwagon, but I LOVE it!

Wreck This Journal is a best seller in several countries from what I understand, but if you've somehow managed not top hear about them before, here's the lowdown: WTJ is a prompt journal which fuels creativity and challenges your inner perfectionist, forcing you to do lots of things you've been taught NOT to in the process. Each page contains a prompt, and examples include "Spill your coffee here", "Tear out this page", "Write backwards", and (this was one of the worst ones for me) "Color outside the lines". The idea is to get rid of some of those inner "controls" which temper your creativity and make you second-guess yourself. And it really works!

I've been working on my journal on and off over the past two weeks. It was really challenging at first, forcing myself to do all sorts of destructive things to the journal. But once I picked up steam and managed to let go of my inner perfectionist, I really got into it. I think I've probably done at least a fourth of all the prompts already. I've jumped on my journal, brought it into the shower with me (yes, that's one of the prompts) and slept with it under my pillow.

I love my new journal and I'm sure I'll be spending lots of time with it in 2015. And as I had hoped, working on the WTJ has really made me miss writing more regularly - I'm thinking of starting a "normal" journal this year as a result.

So if you'd like to get those creative juices flowing in 2015, I'd highly recommend getting a Wreck This Journal for yourself, too!

The London Report, part two

No London trip is complete with at least a little bit of shopping. And while shopping wasn't the primary goal of our trip, we did manage to stop by most of the stores I was hoping to visit. The Cass Art flagship store was great, as was Foyles and Forbidden planet (geek heaven!). And of course, the fabric and haberdashery sections at Liberty was fantastic as always. Above are my Liberty finds: gorgeous washi tapes, a pretty lavender sachet, and... What's in that white package, I wonder?

The above is a phone picture I snapped as we were unpacking our bags on Sunday. With the exception of apparel (because really, this is not a style blog - I doubt you'd be interested in a couple of Primark cardigans) and a few gifts, this is everything I bought on our trip. Of course, leave it to the librarian's daughter to pack her suitcase full of books she could just as well have bought online from the comfort of her living room... I can't help it, books just call out to me! But I also happen to think that books make great souvenirs - every time I pick up a particular book I'm reminded of how and where I got it, and that's the whole point of souvenirs, isn't it?

As you can see these books are mostly my regular brand of non-fiction, but there are a couple of craft/art books in there too. My plan is to learn how to draw faces and draw people in 2015! I also got some postcards, brushes and art masking fluid for a watercolor project I'm planning. And of course there are a few geeky things in there too - the Deathly Hallows key ring has since been turned into a necklace, and the chocolate frog has been devoured.

But now, for the all important fabric reveal. Get ready to drool!


Seriously, how amazing are these?? I've been trying to pick a favorite but it's just too hard! I love the Kayoko Tana Lawn, I bought it in red this time but I actually have it in another colorway (pink/cerise) as well. But I think my favorite of these is actually the red and green print at the top of the stack, I can see myself using that a lot next year. The only problem with Liberty fabrics is that they are so nice, you almost have to force yourself to cut into them. But I wan't these fabrics to be used, not just sit around, so I will have to get over that. Any tips on Liberty-worthy projects I should add to my list?

Looking for inspiration?

In a crafty rut? Blogs, Flickr and Craftster are all great ways to find crafty inspiration, but to me there's nothing quite like looking through a really good craft book. It might have something to do with the fact that my dad is a librarian, but I'm a total book nerd. I just love the look and feel of a nice book!

Here are some of the craft books I'm coveting right now:

Art Stamping Workshop by Gloria page. I would love to take my stamp carving to the next level, and this looks like a book that could help me. Lots of nice images, ideas and techniques!

Pretty Little Presents from Lark Books. The latest from the "Pretty Little" series, this little book caught my attention because I like making things for other people and I would love some new gifts ideas!

Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray. I love Aimee's style, and as I am always doodling on scrap bits of paper, I think this type of embroidery would suit me!

Warm Fuzzies by Betz White. I've been following Betz's blog for a while, and she has a really unique style. I have a bunch of felted sweaters that I have been meaning to play around with, and there are so many ideas in Betz's book!

Fall flowers

We've been having the most amazing weather lately! It's been incredibly sunny for this time of year, and the leaves are starting to change colors. I'm loving all the reds and yellows... I tried to decorate our apartment accordingly, and I even bought myself a bright red shirt to match! :-D

One of my decorating projects comes from a Swedish craft book written by Josefin Ekman, who also writes the blog Dear Martha - go check it out! Anyway, this is another project that has that "reduce, reuse, recycle" feel to it:

Yes, those are tin cans! When I first read about this idea it seemed a bit odd to me, too. But I really like the result! You don't need a lot of flowers, either. The smallest one wasn't planned, I just has so many flowers left when I finished the other two that I decided to rummage through the cabinets for another can. I think the one in the middle is my favorite. Here it is displayed with some more fall goodies:

The candles in the picture come from the Yankee Candle Co. Their scented candles are amazing! I wish you could sniff them through the computer screen... I got Orchard Pear and Cafe au Lait because I thought they were fitting for fall.

Oh, and in case you're curious, here is Josefin's version of the flower tins - much prettier than mine but not very fall-like:

What do you think- cute craft of just crazy?