Can Coloring Be the Recipe to Happiness? (review and giveaway)

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received these books, free of charge,from Fox Chapel Publishing, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about them,  all opinions are my own.


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If cooking is the the Gumbo recipe for love, then doodling has to be the recipe for a happy brain!

We all know that coloring cn allow your mind to de-stress, to allow you to emotionally relax, and to just make you HAPPY. That sounds like a great recipe for a calm being to me!

We recently got to check out a new series of adult coloring books, 
that have a very interesting backstory:

mcardle coloring books


In October 2013, artist Thaneeya McArdle gave most of her stuff to Goodwill, put the rest in storage, and became a full-time nomad, roaming across the US and abroad. While on the road, Thaneeyalanded upon a major licensing deal for her artwork and worked remotely for two years managing her art for coloring books. Her coloring book empire grew and grew! She has since returned home and when asked if she'd consider becoming a full-time nomad again she says the idea is still on the table...but for now, she's continuing to focus on her newfound coloring book enterprise.

"These days I'm typically immersed in designing new coloring books, creating colorful calendars, and experimenting with a variety of tantalizing art supplies like Copic markers, gouache, paint markers, liquid watercolors, paper-cutting and whatever else I can get my hands on! When I have time, I occasionally add new lessons and content on Art-is-Fun.com," McArdle says.

Something that is wodnerful about her coloring books, is that they ALL have wonderful sayings on the back page, with room to write your thoughts, or additional inspirational quotes underneath! This really allows you to turn each book into your own personal journal space, making them great for gift giving, all year round!

color love samples

Color Love Purse Size Coloring Book featuring selected illustrations from Thaneeya's coloring books, the book is part of the "On-the-Go" series, which means that it's smaller than your traditional coloring books! It is a handy, portable size, as you can see from the top pix, allowing you to pack it in your purse or travel tote easily, so you can color anywhere, at anytime! So no more typing away on your telephone while waiting in the doctor's office- color instead! The series is also great for adding to backseat bins, for travel boredom too! This books has some of my favorite designs from Thaneeya's books in it!

 samples Don't Worry Be Happy Coloring Treasury

Don't Worry Be Happy Coloring Treasury: this huge spiral-bound book features a collection of 96 upbeat coloring pages from Thaneeya's other coloring books, and is perfect for gift giving, if you have no idea what type of illustrations the recipient would like to color! As you can see, there are signs, whimsical animals,.flowers, Day of the Dead skulls, circle mandellas and more! I love the spiral binding, as it allows the book the lay perfectly flat while you work! It would be great for teens for an "I'm Bored" Summer preventor too!

Nature Mandelas Coloring Book samples

Nature Mandelas Coloring Book: containing 30 whimsical circles of nature, this is a book that offers a fun, and easy, way to exercise your creativity! As you can see these circle pictures are quite unique! Miss Grace and I were fighting over the feather one as soon as we saw it! The designs are both whimsical and gorgeous, and you just can't wait to color and frame them!


live love laugh samples

Live Love Laugh: this new addition to the coloring line, allows you to color your own stickers and personalize your world! There are more than 100 customizable art decals printed on high quality artist paper,, to color, peel, and stick. From birds and flowers, to butterflies and bowler hats, these fun and fanciful designs come in a variety of sizes and shapes, for adding color to envelopes, packages and more!  Miss Grace declared this one hers, as soon as she opened the box! She declared it the FUN book, and set off with it to figure out where she could use them all! It would be another great addition to your Summer "I'm Bored' buster box this Summer too! But it's great for the creative Mom, who likes to add her own touches to gift cards too!

As you can see, all of the coloring books offer really great ideas to urge your creativity into hyperdrive! Once you start coloring in these great books, you might not be able to stop! We highly recommend them!


flashing Win

Giveaway:

color love cover

One lucky BTHM reader will get to win this lovely COMPACT coloring book for their own
happiness and enjoyment!



About the Author:

Professional artist Thaneeya McArdle is the author of 30 bestselling coloring books from Design Originals. Based in Florida, she works in painting, drawing, and mixed media, with a special focus on vibrantly detailed whimsical art. Thaneeyaoperates Art-Is-Fun.com, an art instruction website.

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