7 favorite coloring books for adults {screen-free time together}

While I was planning June's One Move Retreat, I began to think about the Bold Moves I wanted to make in my own life. One move that fell into the "everyday life" bold move category was "Making Dinner and Eating Every Night at the Table." As I took that Bold Move through the process that I taught the women at the retreat and began to feel the weight of somehow figuring out how to make that happen, I realized the feelings and desires under this declaration were summed up better by "More Screen-Free Time Together." 

And when I say "screen-free," I'm usually talking about me. Ellie's only five and we haven't yet had a problem with her wanting to be on an iPad more than wanting to do things with us. She does watch TV, but often says, "I'm ready to turn this off now." This doesn't mean that we don't have issues with it all from time to time, but I'm the one who is running several aspects of my business from (almost) every device in the house and I'm the one who has trouble implementing "business hours" when it comes to my Facebook groups and customer emails. So sometimes I have to be pushed to set aside time without the phone. Jon's on his phone more and more these days, so it is good for him to put it away too.

As parents of a little one, it is so easy to feel like we're taking a few moments "for ourselves" when we look at our phones while they are busy playing, but sometimes, not always but sometimes, we are disconnecting from our lives, from the beauty in our homes, from noticing the little nuances in our child's and family's life when we just quickly check to see if anyone has liked our cute photo of our kid on Instagram.

So a few months ago, I began gathering a few "go-to" moves that we could do during some screen-free time together. I'm going to share them in a series of posts in the hopes that they inspire you to take some screen-free time for yourself whether you have kids or not.

First up: Coloring!

You might have noticed that coloring is in. And by in, I mean it is EVERYWHERE! You can't walk into any bookstore or even a gift shop without seeing coloring books for adults and kids. 

A few months back I wrote about the mindfulness of coloring, and since then, it's gotten even bigger.

Coloring has become one of my family's current favorite activities. In the summer, we're spending time outside on quilts in the backyard and coloring and doing other crafts, and we're using coloring as a way to quiet down in the evenings. Bed time has been a struggle some evenings. I find that it we turn off the tv and say no to a special movie night even though it's summer and it sometimes feels like every night could become movie night because no one has to get up early for school the next day, we all feel a bit more centered and less grumpy the next day. Having a family activity before bed seems to be helping this. (Of course we don't do this every night. But the ease that we find when we do is something I'm noticing.)

Usually we each choose a coloring book and then take our plastic tub of colored pencils to the table or backporch and play some music and quietly color. And again, of course it isn't always full of ease. But we are getting into a groove with this one.

Here are my current seven favorite coloring books for adults that we're having fun with over here. Ellie sometimes colors in these books and sometimes colors in her other books. We find that the books with more details, like most of these, are better suited for colored pencils or a very fresh box of crayons. 

1. Creative Coloring Inspirations by Valentina Harper

We just call this one the "Today is going to be awesome" book because of the image on the cover. I love Valentina's artwork and was completely delighted to find her series of coloring books. I highly recommend them especially if you want to color really intricate designs. With this specific book there are encouraging and inspirational phrases throughout that you can hang on your wall when you finish. We're also sending some in the mail to friends and family. The pages are easy to tear out, which is another awesome feature.

2. Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book by Johanna Basford

This book is so gorgeous inside. It has quite a few details but they aren't super small, so I found it really relaxing. I also like that the pages are cream, which makes me feel like I don't have to color in every bit of white space. It includes a little treasure hunt inside, like a Look and Find book, and Ellie loves this part.

Note that this one is temporarily out of stock on Amazon but it looks like you can still order it. I found mine at our local Barnes and Noble. And it looks like you can find it at Paper Source and Urban Outfitters has the Enchanted Forest edition.

3. Just about any mandala coloring book

Jon loves coloring mandalas, and his current favorites are Mandala Designs from Peter Pauper Press, Creative Coloring Mandala Expressions also by Valentina Harper, and Mandala Design Coloring Book by Jenean Morrison. Next on his list is 

4. Just Add Color Botanicals by Lisa Congdon

This coloring book is gorgeous. The pages are nice and thick so you could easily use fine point markers or even watercolors to color the pages. The designs are detailed but not tiny. And you can easily tear out the pages. This is one I'd take with me to a coffee shop to color for a while before picking Ellie up from school and sit there with a few colors and just have fun. It's temporarily out of stock at Amazon, but available at Barnes and Noble online.

5. Calming Colouring: Patterns by Graham Leslie McCallum

This one is great for all ages. Ellie has claimed it as hers, and the repeat patterns actually do seem to center her as she chooses her colors and gets into a rhythm. Some of the patterns aren't as intricate as other coloring books out there, and I think that will appeal to those who want to finish a complete page in one sitting. The designs are a bit more streamlined too. I also like the Nature Patterns edition in this series.

6. Flow Magazine's Coloring Book by Helen Dardik and Carolyn Gavin

I stumbled across this one in the magazine section of Barnes and Noble. It's published by Flow Magazine. It's a very sweet coloring book full of images that just make me smile. Ellie loves it too. You can order it from Flow Magazine here (and see examples of pages).

7. Dapper Animals by Thaneeya McArdle

This one is our newest coloring book and it just makes me so happy. From an octopus playing a guitar to a llama in a winter hat, it is full of so many delightful characters to color and make your own. Fun for all ages because while there are a lot of details, the patters aren't too intricate.

Of course you do not need this many coloring books to get started. Just choose one! And have fun! I'll be bringing these to my next retreat so that the ladies can enjoy diving into this world of coloring and learn first hand how it becomes a really beautiful self-care pracitce.

Note: Most of these links are to Amazon, but I've also had a lot of luck finding several of these on sale at Zulily from time to time. Most of these links are affiliate, which means I receive a small commission if you purchase through the site. 

permission granted

A few weeks ago, I snapped this photo and shared it on Instagram with these words: Permission to "sit on the floor of the kitchen and drink a cider and read while lasagna cooks and your family watches videos of the cast of Frozen singing in the other room" granted.

Such a simple self-care move to help me find my way back to myself. 

And capturing this moment with my phone + writing down a few words becomes evidence of how I'm finding my way.

Your homework: Get into the picture this week + give yourself permission to take care of you.

Yes.

*****

In my book Inner Excavation: Explore Your Self Through Photography, Poetry, and Mixed Media, I gathered up many of my favorite ways to unearth pieces of our stories using the mediums of poetry, photography, and mixed media.

Through the prompts and examples in this book, you will be inspired to take photos of the everyday beauty around you (and even turn the camera on yourself), find the poet inside you, play with the art supplies you probably already have in your home, and take time to seek stillness in your daily life.

It's available right here in my shop.

could i really paint?

Over here I'm sifting through ideas for my own creative practice to play with during the Chickadee Road :: Studio Sessions. As I mentioned in our Chickadee Road Chat last week, it seems like I'm not really in a place to do the same practice at the same time every day. It is summer and Ellie and Jon are home every single day, so I'm squeezing in bits of creative play here and there, and often in my moments alone I'm either working or trying to rest a bit. 

This is why I'm so excited about the Studio Sessions. I want to be surrounded with kindred spirits who are finding their way to make room for creative play even when the day is full, even when it seems hard. I want to practice what I know and gently push myself to make time for what I know I need.

And I keep coming back to a strong desire to paint more. 

The truth is I always want to paint but there are so many reasons I don't...I'm not very good. I don't know how. I really can only paint when Kelly is here. It makes too much of a mess. I have too much work to do and not enough time to get the supplies out. And how the list goes on.

I'm pretty good at excuses. (Can you relate?)

But still, I keep coming back to this question: Could I really paint?

We're heading to my mom's for a few days soon and I'm thinking about taking my watercolors + Moleskine and just playing. Just putting color to the page and seeing what happens. Watercolors are so easy to travel with, and Kelly's taught me some pretty fun techniques at the retreats this year. Why not?

And then just maybe I will be in a bit of a groove and can continue to play in August. Or maybe I'll decide that I want to try something else.

This is the fun thing about creative practices: You get to create your own adventure.

If you've been longing to play, just PLAY, in your corner of the world - from art journaling to cooking to taking a photo walk each day - consider coming along with Kelly and me for the August Studio Sessions. We are going to have so much fun!

An incredible group of women is already gathering and we'd love to have you come along. 

why i *still* watch grey's anatomy (because this is self-care)

 

versions of this list have been rolling around my brain for weeks now, so i thought i would just get it down...because sometimes (not all the time but sometimes) self-care can be in the form of a date in front of the television and i'm not afraid to say it.

why i watch "grey's anatomy"

because it helps me grieve some of the stuck stuff

because i remember walking through hospital corridors and imagining a force field of love around us

because a four-month-old heart really is that small

because talking about death is okay

because i am so thankful our teaching hospital experience didn't involve drama quite like that

because my baby lived (and yours didn't and i think about that too. often.) 

because life and death really are part of our everyday (even though that scares us)

because Patrick Dempsey is even better looking than when the series began

because I love the music

because the voice over at the beginning and end gets me every single time

because my birth experience was more traumatic than some of the storylines and it helps me to know I'm not crazy to be feeling all that I feel

because it really is okay to grieve the parts when things weren't okay even if they are mostly okay now

because sometimes fiction gives our brain and heart just the space they need to be still enough to notice the feelings underneath 

because this is self-care... {march 25}

I was having a self-loathing sort of morning.

As I went through the pieces of the morning routine, I kept telling myself to shake it off but I couldn't find my way out.

The sort of morning where your to-do list goes from tapping on you to roaring in your ears, mind, stomach. And your toddler screams in your face and you respond with "I'm going to walk away from you now because that is hurting my ears and my feelings" and she follows you screaming and then suddenly just lifts up her arms and wants up but says, "Just don't hug me" even as she is wrapping her arms around your neck and you are wondering if walking away is the right thing because maybe it makes her feel abandoned and you feel so angry that it isn't easier to just trust what you know sometimes. And you aren't sure if there is enough money in the house checking account to cover the bills so you have to move things around a bit to make it work. And you've been awake for too long and the exhaustion hasn't let up since November and you thought it was going to and the disappointment that it hasn't leaves you in tears in the shower where you are finally alone.

One of those sorts of mornings.

So I stood in the shower until I ran out of hot water.

And the shock of the cold water had me saying, "Okay kid, what do you need?"

So I wrapped the towel around me and stood in front of the mirror and looked at my creased forehead and intensely furrowed eyebrows and said quietly to myself, "Soften."

And just as my face relaxed, I wondered why I let go of my long hair last year, so I shook my head and a piece of hair fell across my face and there she was: my pirate self. And I felt myself begin to relax into an almost smile as a bit of mischievousness twinkled for just a second or two.

I could hear Brene Brown saying something about how the wholehearted feel the same shame we all do, but then they replace it with gratitude. So I thought, "Okay, four things right now." And I tried but then found myself harumphing with an "I don't really think there is any joy here" sort of response, and I almost turned away from the mirror, but my feet stayed put and as my face turned back, I saw the truth resting in the circles and the hair across my face and the wrinkles appearing around my eyes and I couldn't stop myself from listing: hot water, my studio, this breath, those darn birds singing their hearts out.

Eye to eye, letting myself lean into the softness there. The compassion. The realness. The beauty.

I asked myself again, "Okay kid, what do you need?"

The answer came swiftly and loudly through me: PLAY

So I'm heading to the studio to let the blue sky shine in on me. And I'm going to turn up Mumford and Sons and maybe download fun. (because I really like those guys too) and find my way to play for a couple of hours. 

Because I am trusting I know what I need.

Because I will be able to focus in on the other stuff with more openness and joy when my heart has been given some time to actually feel that joy for a bit.

Because this is self-care: Getting dirty in the realness of what daily life is and trusting it is okay to just feel all of it and then sifting through the resources you know until you find a handhold and then the next and you find your way out. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

***

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