In praise of coloring books

When I first had kids, I remember telling myself that when they were old enough to draw I’d only give them blank paper—not coloring books! I wanted them to be able to express themselves freely without feeling like they had to conform to a drawing made by someone with better fine motor skills.

Ha! Like a lot of grand ideas, that one went out the window. We still do a lot of blank-paper art, but I’ve given up on demonizing coloring books. In fact, I rather like them for myself now.

I can’t draw worth a pile of beans, so coloring books come in handy during craft projects sometimes. Here are a few ways you can use them:

-Project pictures onto a chalkboard wall and trace them with white or colored chalk (see the chalkboard wall above from my kitchen as an example of this).

-Trace the drawings onto fabric using a disappearing ink pen and embroider them.

-Turn a simple coloring page image into an applique design for a quilt, apron, T-shirt or other sewing project.

-Project pictures onto butcher paper, trace the lines then paint them in to create a scene in your house for a kid’s birthday party.

-Laminate a picture colored by your kids and use it as a placemat.

-Scan a page colored by your kids into your computer, then turn it into a puzzle, a T-shirt, a clock or just about anything (including underwear) through Cafe Press’ personalized gift service .

There are lots of places to find coloring books these days aside from the grocery-store aisles.

- Letmecolor.com is one of my favorite online resources. I once appliqued this giraffe onto one of my daughter’s T-shirts, and I’ve always wanted to do something with this peacock drawing . Any suggestions?

-Etsy has some fantastic, unique coloring books for sale by artists from around the world. I love this “Buy Local, Buy Seasonal” coloring book by Claudia Pearson (found via Ohdeedoh ). I’m pretty sure Spokane artist Tiffany Patterson used to sell coloring books on Etsy, but I’m having trouble tracking that down right now. Tiffany? Anyone?

-Oftentimes talented bloggers offer free coloring pages on their sites, like this gardening image by Sharon of the blog A Lovely Bud. (While you’re there, check out her awesome Mother’s Day cards .)

-The (wonderful, glorious, devastatingly expensive) store Anthropologie often carries coloring books, like this beauty .

-I’ve picked up some vintage coloring books at thrift shops and garage sales that are worth way more to me than the 25 cents or so I paid for them.

What are your favorite coloring book resources? What creative things do you do with the pictures?