I have a super top-secret statement to confess:
I still love coloring books
. There's something fantastic about coloring within the lines. It's the thing we learn when we're wee ones-- how to shade and color evenly and experiment with a wide variety of colors (like the 100+ packs of crayolas! Those were awesome!) But, alas, most of the coloring books these days are kind of blah. Here's a super-simple way to make your own coloring books from scratch!
DT #4 needs:
A book of tracing paper (preferably 8 1/2"x11" or around this size)
A sharpie marker or some sort of felt marker
Some cool large format books or print-outs of images or photos you would like to use (could be your own!)
A printer, scanner, and printer paper
Crayons or colored pencils
STEP ONE: Find good images you want to recreate. I LOVE Taschen books because they usually are big and have great photographs. You could also trace your own photographs or draw your own works of art. (FYI: This is also a method we use on our model photos for architecture to do quick perspective sketches!)
STEP TWO: Lay a piece of trace over the image and trace, trace, trace!
STEP THREE: After you're finished with several images, scan them into your computer (if the scanned image looks a bit grainy, put a piece of white paper behind your image to up the contrast).
STEP FOUR: Print your pages off. If you choose to bind yours (if you're making some for the kiddos especially), Kinko's has a variety of binding services for a couple dollars to choose from. You could also just use a binder and a hole punch!
These would make great Christmas gifts for family and friends and are relatively quick to do. If you wanted to get really creative, you could even photoshop your kids in fairy tales or other adventures for them to color! xoxo