Cards

The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Unicorns and Rainbows – A Review

Disclaimer – Please read this disclosure about my use of affiliate links which are contained within this post.
The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Unicorns and Rainbows are published and very kindly sent to me to review by Nosy Crow Publishing. These cards will be published on the 7^th of September and are the sixth set in the series, my reviews of the previous titles can be found here: Nature, Flowers and Butterflies, Summertime, Christmas, A Year of Celebrations! This book, as with all of the others in the series, is fantastically well made and everything has been thought of, matched and produced with quality in mind. The book itself is large at 28cm square, it’s paperback with a flexible card cover with blue foiling lettering and detail. Inside the front cover are instructions detailing how to fold the envelopes for the cards. Following this are pages of colourable cards with two on each page connected by tabs on perforated pages which are very easy to remove from the book with no issues or bending and a thin strip that the perforation is attached to that you can cut off with scissors to neaten up the card edges. There are 24 cards, each with a unique design, and all 4 sides of the cards have illustrations on that you can colour including a “Coloured For You By…” section on the back, they measure 13.5cm square when folded. Following the card pages are 24 unique envelope designs that match the cards perfectly and are printed in the same order as the cards so it’s very easy to match up the paired cards and envelopes together. The envelopes have illustrations on the front, each of the four flaps, and the whole of the back of the page which makes up the inside of the envelope has a repeating design on it that can be coloured if you wish. The folding instructions are very clear and easy to follow and the pre-scored lines on the cards and envelopes allow for a perfect fold every time. On the very last page of the book are 24 circular stickers with matching designs to seal the envelopes with. One small gripe I have is that these stickers are arranged in a random order and it’s not clear which card many of them are designed for, with many being suitable for a number of cards which just irks the perfectionist in me.

The card itself is bright white, medium thickness and lightly textured. I experienced absolutely no bleeding and very minimal shadowing when using water-based pens; alcohol markers will bleed through. Pencils would be ideal for these cards if you’re wanting more subtle colours, or wanting to blend and shade. The envelopes are printed onto bright white, thick paper which I didn’t experience any bleed through of water-based pens on but did get the lightest of shadowing when I coloured too slowly and the ink saturated the paper a bit much so do please be careful if you’re wanting the inside of your envelopes to remain pristine for colouring too. There isn’t a huge amount of space for an address on a few of the envelopes but really, they’re too pretty to send as they are in the post as you risk them getting damaged so when sending them to friends and family I always pop them inside a normal envelope to keep them safe and damage-free, it also means you don’t have to stick a postage stamp over some of the design.

The designs themselves are utterly charming and absolutely adorable. This set is a great combination of unicorns and other cute creatures as well as lots of rainbows, one thing to note that has slightly bothered me is that lots of the cards contain rainbows but just one of them has the full seven strands, all of the others have up to 6, usually 4 or 5 which is a bit difficult to colour properly, especially with pens, it’s irritated me ever since I was a child that so many rainbow drawings don’t have the full 7 strands, this may well not bother others though! The illustrations include all sorts of things from lots of unicorns and rainbows to cupcakes, clouds, flowers, stars, deer, swans, cats, dogs, and even a peacock, the cards in this set feel more samey than the previous sets have and a few of them I had to look at twice to check they weren’t the same but there definitely aren’t any duplicates, just some similar ones. All aspects of the cards and envelopes are hand drawn and while some are very similarly arranged, they are all unique. The cards feel luxurious and are extremely well made, I couldn’t ask for more from a set of colouring cards, and with an RRP of just £9.99, with previous sets often being found for under £5, they’re an absolute bargain and I’m sure I’ll be purchasing set after set of these, I’m a huge unicorn fan!

In terms of mental health, I personally found these cards absolutely fantastic, they’re really distracting, and very helpful for calming you down and helping you to zone out and focus on a manageable project which you can colour in sections or larger bits when you’re feeling better. The line thickness is thin throughout and the images are mostly very intricate and detailed with a few larger spaces on animal bodies but predominantly each image consists of lots of teeny tiny elements so these cards are definitely for those of you with pretty good vision and fine motor control. The image content is really natural and has a childlike quality which adds so much charm and character to the illustrations and is sure to brighten the darkest of days and spread a little cheer, no matter how low you’re feeling. The cards take a surprisingly long time to colour so you get hours and hours of enjoyment from this book and you can really spread the colouring love by posting them coloured or even uncoloured to family and friends.

I would highly recommend these cards to anyone looking for greetings cards to colour and send, or anyone wanting to persuade their friends or family into starting colouring, these cards are so charming that the recipient surely can’t help but start colouring them if they’re sent uncoloured! You’ll need pretty good vision and fine motor control to enjoy them but if you have those then you’re sure to love these cards, because apart from the address section being a little small, they’re genuinely perfect! Unicorn lovers will adore this book, either as the recipient of a card or of the whole book, they’re fabulous!

If you’d like to purchase a set, they’re available here:
Amazon UK – The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Unicorns and Rainbows
Book Depository Worldwide – goo.gl/UZUsQv

The card and envelope below were coloured using Stabilo 88 Fineliners and Stabilo 68 Fibre-tips.

The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Amazing Animals and Beautiful Birds – A Review

Disclaimer – Please read this disclosure about my use of affiliate links which are contained within this post.
The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Amazing Animals and Beautiful Birds is illustrated by Rachel Cloyne and published and kindly sent to me to review by Nosy Crow. This book is the latest in a huge series of Colouring Books of Cards and Envelopes, the others have all been illustrated by Rebecca Jones and had nature and animal themed cards, this new book is one of two which have been created in partnership with the British Museum and while the production quality and style is identical, the content is quite different, to read more about that skip to the third paragraph.

The book itself is large at 28cm square, it’s paperback with a flexible card cover with gold foiling lettering and detail. Inside the front cover are instructions detailing how to fold the envelopes for the cards. Following this are pages of colourable cards with two on each page connected by tabs on perforated pages which are very easy to remove from the book with no issues or bending and a thin strip that the perforation is attached to that you can cut off with scissors to neaten up the card edges. There are 24 cards, each with a unique design, and all 4 sides of the cards have illustrations on that you can colour including a “Coloured For You By…” section on the back, they measure 13.5cm square when folded. Following the card pages are 24 unique envelope designs that match the cards perfectly and are printed in the same order as the cards so it’s very easy to match up the paired cards and envelopes together. The envelopes have illustrations on the front, each of the four flaps, and the whole of the back of the page which makes up the inside of the envelope has a repeating design on it that can be coloured if you wish. The folding instructions are very clear and easy to follow and the pre-scored lines on the cards and envelopes allow for a perfect fold every time. On the very last page of the book are 24 circular stickers with matching designs to seal the envelopes with. One small gripe I have is that these stickers are arranged in a random order and it’s not clear which card many of them are designed for, with many being suitable for a number of cards which just irks the perfectionist in me.

The card itself is bright white, medium thickness and lightly textured. I experienced absolutely no bleeding and very minimal shadowing when using water-based pens; alcohol markers will bleed through. Pencils would be ideal for these cards if you’re wanting more subtle colours, or wanting to blend and shade. The envelopes are printed onto bright white, thick paper which I didn’t experience any bleed through of water-based pens on but did get the lightest of shadowing when I coloured too slowly and the ink saturated the paper a bit much so do be careful if you’re wanting the inside of your envelopes to remain pristine for colouring too. Sadly, the space left on the front of a few of the envelopes is pretty small and not exactly suitable for a normal length postal address and there is also no space for a postage stamp. You could add an address label, and simply stick the postage stamp over the design but for perfectionists like me this isn’t an option and it is a shame this wasn’t quite thought through. When posting these cards to friends and family I will be popping the whole thing inside a normal envelope so that I can keep the envelope design intact.

The content is unusual to say the least, the artist took inspiration from objects from the British Museum’s collections and so rather than showing scenes or the objects themselves each card shows a pattern inspired by the original object. The theme is animals and birds and each card has an animal or bird themed pattern or scene on it, similar to that found on the original object. I wasn’t a fan of how the patterns translated into cards in the other title Fabulous Flowers and Perfect Patterns, but these animal cards have actually worked quite well, there is a good level of interest and the scenes and patterns are nicely drawn and seem a bit less random. I still don’t like these cards as much as the original sets created in conjunction with the National Trust as they were cuter and more fun to colour but these are nice nonetheless. The artwork in this book is much more polished than that in the other British Museum title and there are no issues with varying line thicknesses or pale print, these lines are a consistent size and properly black. There is a good variety of images inspired by all sorts of different objects, each one handily noted on the back of the card so you can research each object to find out what it looks like and use the original colours or your own imagination if you choose. On the inside of the back cover are small photographs, each shown in order and labelled, of the objects the cards are based on, these are a bit small to see for giving proper inspiration but it’s nice to know what you’re looking for when researching the objects online if you wish. The animals and birds include all sorts from camels to dragons, peacocks to horses, elephants to tigers and rabbits to hippopotami, there’s a great range of animals included and all sorts of types of images including mosaics, patterns and scenes.

In terms of mental health, this book is pretty good, it’s got loads to colour and makes a great project, it’s always nice to colour something with a purpose and you could either display the cards yourself once they’re finished, or send them coloured or uncoloured to family and friends, they could be a great way of getting non-colourers started! The line thickness is consistent throughout and remains thin but not spindly thin. The intricacy and detail levels vary with the envelopes being less intricate than the cards which are highly detailed and intricate, therefore, you’ll need pretty good vision and fine motor control to enjoy these cards. You will need good levels of concentration but the cards do have lots of component parts so you can always colour a small section on a bad day or a full card and envelope on days when you’re feeling more capable. These cards take a surprisingly long time to colour so you’re really getting good value for money with these sets as you’ve got hours and hours of colouring time as well as something really useful and usable that can then be sent to others to share the colouring joy! The content is nature-inspired and quite cute, not as cute as the original titles but pleasing to colour nonetheless.

Overall, these cards are nice, I’m not wowed by the content but they’re a clever idea and they’re cute designs, certainly unlike any I’ve seen in any other book. They are a good combination of history, antiques and colouring and would make a great quirky present for someone. The production quality, as always, is outstanding and I’m sure these cards will appeal to many.

If you’d like to purchase a copy, it’s available here:
Amazon UK – The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Amazing Animals and Beautiful Birds
Book Depository Worldwide – https://www.bookdepository.com/British-Museum-The-Colouring-Book-of-Cards-and-Envelopes-Amazing-Animals-and-Beautiful-Birds-Rachel-Cloyne/9781788000017/?a_aid=colouringitmom

The card below was coloured with Stabilo Point 88 Fineliners and Stabilo 68 Fibre-Tips.

The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Fabulous Flowers and Perfect Patterns – A Review

Disclaimer – Please read this disclosure about my use of affiliate links which are contained within this post.
The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Fabulous Flowers and Perfect Patterns is illustrated by Rachel Cloyne and published and kindly sent to me to review by Nosy Crow. This book is the latest in a huge series of Colouring Books of Cards and Envelopes, the others have all been illustrated by Rebecca Jones and had nature and animal themed cards, this new book is one of two which have been created in partnership with the British Museum and while the production quality and style is identical, the content is quite different, to read more about that skip to the third paragraph.

The card itself is bright white, medium thickness and lightly textured. I experienced absolutely no bleeding and very minimal shadowing when using water-based pens; alcohol markers will bleed through. Pencils would be ideal for these cards if you’re wanting more subtle colours, or wanting to blend and shade. The envelopes are printed onto bright white, thick paper which I didn’t experience any bleed through of water-based pens on but did get the lightest of shadowing when I coloured too slowly and the ink saturated the paper a bit much so do be careful if you’re wanting the inside of your envelopes to remain pristine for colouring too. Sadly, the space left on the front of a few of the envelopes is pretty small and not exactly suitable for a normal length postal address and there is also no space for a postage stamp. You could add an address label, and simply stick the postage stamp over the design but for perfectionists like me this isn’t an option and it is a shame this wasn’t quite thought through. When posting these cards to friends and family I will be popping the whole thing inside a normal envelope so that I can keep the envelope design intact.

The content is unusual to say the least, the artist took inspiration from objects from the British Museum’s collections and so rather than showing scenes or the objects themselves each card shows a pattern inspired by the original object. While this was a clever idea, I’m not personally convinced that it’s translated very well, the cards just seem a bit random with no specific theme and the illustrations aren’t very pretty. As with all artwork, it’s very subjective and I’m sure that some people will love these cards but sadly, I’m not one of them and I’m not sure any recipients I might send them to would really understand the imagery. That being said, they’re nicely drawn and contain a good variety of images inspired by all sorts of different objects, each one handily noted on the back of the card so you may be able to research each object to find out what it looks like and use the original colours or your own imagination if you choose. On the inside of the back cover are small photographs, each shown in order and labelled, of the objects the cards are based on, these are a bit small to see for giving proper inspiration but it’s nice to know what you’re looking for when researching the objects online if you wish. The lines the cards are drawn in are a little strange, in previous titles they have been perfectly black but a number of these aren’t truly black and are a little faded, they also vary in thickness a bit as if they’ve been drawn with a fountain pen rather than a specific sized nib, this gives the images a slightly sketchy feel.

In terms of mental health, this book is quite niche, for those who like history, antiques, and quirky patterns, this book would be ideal, there’s loads to colour in it and it’ll keep you occupied for hours, however, I do think the imagery is a little dull and won’t appeal to the majority of people. The line thickness whilst a little varying as described above is consistent throughout and is thin and spindly thin. The intricacy and detail levels are very high throughout, significantly higher than previous titles in the series and therefore you’ll need very good, near perfect, vision and fine motor control to avoid going over the lines. You will also need very high levels of concentration or to colour for short periods of time as the designs can be difficult to decipher when tired or symptomatic. I wouldn’t advise these cards for days when you’re feeling anxious as the level of focus required is likely to be too high and you might find yourself feeling more on edge rather than calmer. The content is nature-inspired and non-geometric so it’s quite pleasing to the eye and has an obviously hand-drawn quality which is always nicer to colour than computer-generated “perfect” images.

Overall, I’m personally not a fan of these cards but for those with an interest in British Museum artefacts, this book may well be perfect and the content is certainly unlike any other book I’ve seen. It would possibly be the perfect book for the history student or fan who has everything. The production quality, as always, is outstanding and I’m sure these cards will appeal to some.

If you’d like to purchase a copy, it’s available here:
Amazon UK – The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Fabulous Flowers and Perfect Patterns
Book Depository Worldwide – https://www.bookdepository.com/British-Museum-The-Colouring-Book-of-Cards-and-Envelopes-Fabulous-Flowers-and-Perfect-Patterns-Rachel-Cloyne/9780857638625/?a_aid=colouringitmom

The card below was coloured with Stabilo Point 88 Fineliners.

The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: A Year of Celebrations – A Review

Disclaimer – Please read this disclosure about my use of affiliate links which are contained within this post.
The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: A Year of Celebrations are published and very kindly sent to me to review by Nosy Crow Publishing. These cards are the fifth of five sets, you can find my reviews of the previous sets here: Christmas, Summertime, Flowers and Butterflies, Nature. This book is fantastically well made and everything has been thought of, matched and produced with quality in mind. The book itself is large at 28cm square, it’s paperback with a flexible card cover with gold foiling lettering and detail. Inside the front cover are instructions detailing how to fold the envelopes for the cards. Following this are pages of colourable cards with two on each page connected by tabs on perforated pages which are very easy to remove from the book with no issues or bending and a thin strip that the perforation is attached to that you can cut off with scissors to neaten up the card edges. There are 24 cards, each with a unique design, and all 4 sides of the cards have illustrations on that you can colour including a “Coloured For You By…” section on the back, they measure 13.5cm square when folded. Following the card pages are 24 unique envelope designs that match the cards perfectly and are printed in the same order as the cards so it’s very easy to match up the paired cards and envelopes together. The envelopes have illustrations on the front, each of the four flaps, and the whole of the back of the page which makes up the inside of the envelope has a repeating design on it that can be coloured if you wish. The folding instructions are very clear and easy to follow and the pre-scored lines on the cards and envelopes allow for a perfect fold every time. On the very last page of the book are usually 24 circular stickers with matching designs to seal the envelopes with, in this set you get a whopping 36 which I found really exciting and means that instead of trying to match each one up correctly, there are a number of suitable ones for each card.

The card itself is bright white, medium thickness and lightly textured. I experienced absolutely no bleeding or shadowing when using water-based pens; alcohol markers will bleed through. Pencils would be ideal for these cards if you’re wanting more subtle colours, or wanting to blend and shade. The envelopes are printed onto bright white, thick paper which I didn’t experience any bleed through of water-based pens on but did get the lightest of shadowing when I coloured too slowly and the ink saturated the paper a bit much so do please be careful if you’re wanting the inside of your envelopes to remain pristine for colouring too. Sadly, the space left on the front of a few of the envelopes is pretty small and not exactly suitable for a normal length postal address and there is also no space for a postage stamp (I have been contacted by the publisher who has explained that this may well be changed in future reprints so there is a larger space for addresses). You could add an address label, and simply stick the postage stamp over the design but for perfectionists like me this isn’t an option and it is a shame this wasn’t quite thought through. When posting these cards to friends and family I will be popping the whole thing inside a normal envelope so that I can keep the envelope design intact. A larger number of the envelopes have just one image on the front so there is plenty of address-writing space so just pick your cards carefully if you’re wanting to be able to post them.

The designs themselves are utterly charming and absolutely adorable. This set is different from the previous four because it doesn’t centre around a specific theme and instead contains all of the cards you need for celebrations throughout the year. The break down of the cards and celebrations is as follows: 1 x Happy New year, 2 x Valentine’s Day, 2 x Mother’s Day, 2 x Easter, 2 x Father’s Day, 4 x Birthday, 1 x Anniversary, 2 x Congratulations (one generic, one for a new baby), 2 x Thank You, 2 x Christmas, 1 x Love, 2 x Thinking of You, and 1 x Get Well Soon. Unlike the cards in the previous books which were scenes or collections of pictures, these all have pretty lettered greetings indicating the celebration they’re for, plenty of them still have scenes, cute animals or leaves, flowers or gems on them but at the centre is the greeting. Every aspect of every card, envelope and sticker is unique, there are no doubled up/rearranged designs, and no corners have been cut. The cards feel luxurious and are extremely well made, I couldn’t ask for more from a set of colouring cards, and with an RRP of just £9.99, often being found for under £5 they’re an absolute bargain and I’m sure I’ll be purchasing set after set of these.

In terms of mental health, I personally found these cards absolutely fantastic. I’ve been having a stressful week with anxiety and these cards have really helped me to calm down, zone out, and focus on a manageable project which I could colour in sections or larger bits when I was feeling better and despite it being the hottest week of the year, they’ve reminded me that my favourite time of year is on its way! The line thickness is thin throughout and the images are mostly very intricate and detailed with a few larger spaces on leaves and animals but predominantly each image consists of lots of small elements so these cards are definitely for those of you with pretty good vision and fine motor control. The image content is really natural and has a childlike quality which adds so much charm and character to the illustrations and is sure to brighten the darkest of days and spread a little cheer throughout the year, no matter how low you’re feeling. The cards take a surprisingly long time to colour so you get hours and hours of enjoyment from this book and you can really spread the colouring love by posting them coloured or even uncoloured to family and friends.

If you’d like to purchase a set, they’re available here:
Amazon UK – The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: A Year of Celebrations
Book Depository Worldwide – http://www.bookdepository.com/The-National-Trust-The-Colouring-Book-of-Cards-and-Envelopes—Year-of-Celebrations-Rebecc-Jones/9780857638564/?a_aid=colouringitmom

Can’t get enough? Check out my reviews of the other available sets here:
Nature
Flowers and Butterflies
Summertime
Christmas

The card and envelope below were coloured using Stabilo 88 Fineliners and Stabilo 68 Fibre-tips.

The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Christmas – A Review

Disclaimer – Please read this disclosure about my use of affiliate links which are contained within this post.
The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Christmas are published and very kindly sent to me to review by Nosy Crow Publishing. These cards are the fourth of five sets, with one more publishing later in the year with a Year of Celebrations theme (I already can’t wait for these)! This book is fantastically well made and everything has been thought of, matched and produced with quality in mind. The book itself is large at 28cm square, it’s paperback with a flexible card cover with red foiling lettering and detail. Inside the front cover are instructions detailing how to fold the envelopes for the cards. Following this are pages of colourable cards with two on each page connected by tabs on perforated pages which are very easy to remove from the book with no issues or bending and a thin strip that the perforation is attached to that you can cut off with scissors to neaten up the card edges. There are 24 cards, each with a unique design, and all 4 sides of the cards have illustrations on that you can colour including a “Coloured For You By…” section on the back, they measure 13.5cm square when folded. Following the card pages are 24 unique envelope designs that match the cards perfectly and are printed in the same order as the cards so it’s very easy to match up the paired cards and envelopes together. The envelopes have illustrations on the front, each of the four flaps, and the whole of the back of the page which makes up the inside of the envelope has a repeating design on it that can be coloured if you wish. The folding instructions are very clear and easy to follow and the pre-scored lines on the cards and envelopes allow for a perfect fold every time. On the very last page of the book are 24 circular stickers with matching designs to seal the envelopes with. One small gripe I have is that these stickers are arranged in a random order and it’s not clear which card many of them are designed for, with many being suitable for a number of cards which just irks the perfectionist in me.

The designs themselves are utterly charming and absolutely adorable. This set is a great combination of super sweet animals, wreaths and heaps of holly, they’re just a delight to colour. The illustrations include lots of birds, bears, mice, squirrels, mistletoe, holly, baubles, presents, poinsettias, Christmas trees, stockings, penguins, Santas, and much more! Every aspect of every card, envelope and sticker is unique, there are no doubled up/rearranged designs, and no corners have been cut. The cards feel luxurious and are extremely well made, I couldn’t ask for more from a set of colouring cards, and they’re an absolute bargain, I’m sure I’ll be purchasing set after set of these.

In terms of mental health, I personally found these cards absolutely fantastic. I’ve been having a stressful week with anxiety and these cards have really helped me to calm down, zone out, and focus on a manageable project which I could colour in sections or larger bits when I was feeling better and despite it being the hottest week of the year, they’ve reminded me that my favourite time of year is on its way! The line thickness is thin throughout and the images are mostly very intricate and detailed with a few larger spaces on leaves and animals but predominantly each image consists of lots of teeny tiny elements so these cards are definitely for those of you with pretty good vision and fine motor control. The image content is really natural and has a childlike quality which adds so much charm and character to the illustrations and is sure to brighten the darkest of days and spread a little Christmas cheer, no matter how low you’re feeling. The cards take a surprisingly long time to colour so you get hours and hours of enjoyment from this book and you can really spread the colouring love by posting them coloured or even uncoloured to family and friends.

I would highly recommend these cards to anyone looking for Christmas cards to colour and send, or anyone wanting to persuade their friends or family into starting colouring, these cards are so charming that the recipient surely can’t help but start colouring them if they’re sent uncoloured! You’ll need pretty good vision and fine motor control to enjoy them but if you have those then you’re sure to love these cards, they’re genuinely perfect!

If you’d like to purchase a set, they’re available here:
Amazon UK – The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Christmas
Book Depository Worldwide – http://www.bookdepository.com/The-National-Trust-The-Colouring-Book-of-Cards-and-Envelopes—Christmas-Rebecc-Jones/9780857637260/?a_aid=colouringitmom

Can’t get enough? Check out my reviews of the other available sets here:
Nature
Flowers and Butterflies
Summertime

Pre order the Year of Celebrations set here:
Amazon UK – The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: A Year of Celebrations
Book Depository Worldwide – http://www.bookdepository.com/The-National-Trust-The-Colouring-Book-of-Cards-and-Envelopes—Year-of-Celebrations-Rebecc-Jones/9780857638564/?a_aid=colouringitmom

The card and envelope below were coloured using Stabilo 88 Fineliners and Stabilo 68 Fibre-tips.

The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Summertime – A Review

Disclaimer – Please read this disclosure about my use of affiliate links which are contained within this post.
The National Trust: The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes – Summertime (Colouring Cards and Envelopes) are published and very kindly sent to me to review by Nosy Crow Publishing. These cards will be published on the 2^nd of June and are the third of three sets, with one more publishing later in the year with a Christmas theme (I already can’t wait for these)! This book is fantastically well made and everything has been thought of, matched and produced with quality in mind. The book itself is large at 28cm square, it’s paperback with a flexible card cover with copper foiling lettering and detail. Inside the front cover are instructions detailing how to fold the envelopes for the cards. Following this are pages of colourable cards with two on each page connected by tabs on perforated pages which are very easy to remove from the book with no issues or bending and a thin strip that the perforation is attached to that you can cut off with scissors to neaten up the card edges. There are 24 cards, each with a unique design, and all 4 sides of the cards have illustrations on that you can colour including a “Coloured For You By…” section on the back, they measure 13.5cm square when folded. Following the card pages are 24 unique envelope designs that match the cards perfectly and are printed in the same order as the cards so it’s very easy to match up the paired cards and envelopes together. The envelopes have illustrations on the front, each of the four flaps, and the whole of the back of the page which makes up the inside of the envelope has a repeating design on it that can be coloured if you wish. The folding instructions are very clear and easy to follow and the pre-scored lines on the cards and envelopes allow for a perfect fold every time. On the very last page of the book are 24 circular stickers with matching designs to seal the envelopes with. One small gripe I have is that these stickers are arranged in a random order and it’s not clear which card many of them are designed for, with many being suitable for a number of cards which just irks the perfectionist in me.

The card itself is bright white, medium thickness and lightly textured. I experienced absolutely no bleeding and very minimal shadowing when using water-based pens; alcohol markers will bleed through. Pencils would be ideal for these cards if you’re wanting more subtle colours, or wanting to blend and shade. The envelopes are printed onto bright white, thick paper which I didn’t experience any bleed through of water-based pens on but did get the lightest of shadowing when I coloured too slowly and the ink saturated the paper a bit much so do please be careful if you’re wanting the inside of your envelopes to remain pristine for colouring too. Sadly, the space left on the front of a few of the envelopes is pretty small and not exactly suitable for a normal length postal address and there is also no space for a postage stamp (I have been contacted by the publisher who has explained that this may well be changed in future reprints so there is a larger space for addresses). You could add an address label, and simply stick the postage stamp over the design but for perfectionists like me this isn’t an option and it is a shame this wasn’t quite thought through. When posting these cards to friends and family I will be popping the whole thing inside a normal envelope so that I can keep the envelope design intact.

The designs themselves are utterly charming and absolutely adorable. This set is a great combination of super sweet animals, beautiful flowers and there are a large number of underwater themed cards too, they’re just a delight to colour. The illustrations include lots of flowers, butterflies, fish, lobsters, crabs, puffins, seagulls, coral, dolphins, bumblebees, shells, turtles, and much more! Every aspect of every card, envelope and sticker is unique, there are no doubled up/rearranged designs, and no corners have been cut. The cards feel luxurious and are extremely well made, I couldn’t ask for more from a set of colouring cards, and with an RRP of just £7.99, often being found for under £5 they’re an absolute bargain and I’m sure I’ll be purchasing set after set of these.

In terms of mental health, I personally found these cards absolutely fantastic. I’ve been having a rough few weeks jam-packed with anxiety and these cards have really helped me to calm down, zone out, and focus on a manageable project which I could colour in sections or larger bits when I was feeling better. The line thickness is thin throughout and the images are mostly very intricate and detailed with a few larger spaces on leaves and petals but predominantly each image consists of lots of teeny tiny elements so these cards are definitely for those of you with pretty good vision and fine motor control. The image content is really natural and has a childlike quality which adds so much charm and character to the illustrations and is sure to brighten the darkest of days and spread a little cheer, no matter how low you’re feeling. The cards take a surprisingly long time to colour so you get hours and hours of enjoyment from this book and you can really spread the colouring love by posting them coloured or even uncoloured to family and friends.

If you’d like to purchase a set, they’re available here:
Amazon UK – The National Trust: The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes – Summertime (Colouring Cards and Envelopes)
Book Depository Worldwide – http://www.bookdepository.com/The-National-Trust-The-Colouring-Book-of-Cards-and-Envelopes—Summertime-Rebecc-Jones/9780857637390/?a_aid=colouringitmom

Can’t get enough? Check out my reviews of the other available sets here:
Nature
Flowers and Butterflies

Pre order the Christmas set here:
Amazon UK – The National Trust: The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes – Christmas (Colouring Cards and Envelopes)
Book Depository Worldwide – http://www.bookdepository.com/The-National-Trust-Colouring-Book-of-Cards-and-Envelopes-Christmas-Rebecc-Jones/9780857637260/?a_aid=colouringitmom

The card and envelope below were coloured using Stabilo 88 Fineliners and Stabilo 68 Fibre-tips.

The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Flowers and Butterflies – A Review

Disclaimer – Please read this disclosure about my use of affiliate links which are contained within this post.
The National Trust: Colouring Cards and Envelopes – Flowers and Butterflies (Colouring Book of Cards/Envelp) are published and very kindly sent to me to review by Nosy Crow Publishing. These cards are the second of two sets, with two more publishing later in the year with a Summer and Christmas theme (I already can’t wait for these)! This book is fantastically well made and everything has been thought of, matched and produced with quality in mind. The book itself is large at 28cm square, it’s paperback with a flexible card cover with blue foiling lettering and detail. Inside the front cover are instructions detailing how to fold the envelopes for the cards. Following this are pages of colourable cards with two on each page connected by tabs on perforated pages which are very easy to remove from the book with no issues or bending and a thin strip that the perforation is attached to that you can cut off with scissors to neaten up the card edges. There are 24 cards, each with a unique design, and all 4 sides of the cards have illustrations on that you can colour including a “Coloured For You By…” section on the back, they measure 13.5cm square when folded. Following the card pages are 24 unique envelope designs that match the cards perfectly and are printed in the same order as the cards so it’s very easy to match up the paired cards and envelopes together. The envelopes have illustrations on the front, each of the four flaps, and the whole of the back of the page which makes up the inside of the envelope has a repeating design on it that can be coloured if you wish. The folding instructions are very clear and easy to follow and the pre-scored lines on the cards and envelopes allow for a perfect fold every time. On the very last page of the book are 24 circular stickers with matching designs to seal the envelopes with. One small gripe I have is that these stickers are arranged in a random order and it’s not clear which card many of them are designed for, with many being suitable for a number of cards which just irks the perfectionist in me.

The card itself is bright white, medium thickness and lightly textured. I experienced absolutely no bleeding or shadowing when using water-based pens but alcohol markers will bleed through. Pencils would be ideal for these cards if you’re wanting more subtle colours, or wanting to blend and shade. The envelopes are printed onto bright white, thick paper which I didn’t experience any bleed through of water-based pens on but did get the lightest of shadowing when I coloured too slowly and the ink saturated the paper a bit much so do please be careful if you’re wanting the inside of your envelopes to remain pristine for colouring too. Sadly, the space left on the front of most of the envelopes is pretty small and not exactly suitable for a normal length postal address and there is also no space for a postage stamp. You could add an address label, and simply stick the postage stamp over the design but for perfectionists like me this isn’t an option and it is a shame this wasn’t quite thought through. When posting these cards to friends and family I will be using a normal envelope so that I can keep the whole design intact.

The designs themselves are utterly charming and absolutely adorable. This set includes illustrations of lots of different types of flowers, loads and loads of butterflies, and other insects including caterpillars, bees and ladybirds. Every aspect of every card, envelope and sticker is unique, there are no doubled up/rearranged designs, and no corners have been cut. The cards feel luxurious and are extremely well made, I couldn’t ask for more from a set of colouring cards, and with an RRP of just £7.99, often being found for under £5 they’re an absolute bargain and I’m sure I’ll be purchasing set after set of these. One thing I did notice, just by chance, is that the image I coloured on the caterpillar card has been printed upside down with the chrysalises hanging upwards so I’ve photographed it the visually correct way meaning it opens on the left rather than the right. This isn’t a major issue, most people wouldn’t even notice and it can easily be displayed upside down but it’s worth mentioning here.

In terms of mental health, I personally found these cards absolutely fantastic. I’ve been having a rough few weeks jam-packed with anxiety and these cards have really helped me to calm down, zone out, and focus on a manageable project which I could colour in sections or larger bits when I was feeling better. The line thickness is thin throughout and the images are mostly very intricate and detailed with a few larger spaces on leaves and petals but predominantly each image consists of lots of teeny tiny elements so these cards are definitely for those of you with pretty good vision and fine motor control (the press release states that they’re suitable for children age 4+ but I strongly disagree as the designs are simply too small and will surely frustrate children under the age of around 10). The image content is really natural and has a childlike quality which adds so much charm and character to the illustrations and is sure to brighten the darkest of days and spread a little cheer, no matter how low you’re feeling. The cards take a surprisingly long time to colour so you get hours and hours of enjoyment from this book and you can really spread the colouring love by posting them coloured or even uncoloured to family and friends.

If you’d like to purchase a set, they’re available here:
Amazon UK – The National Trust: Colouring Cards and Envelopes – Flowers and Butterflies (Colouring Book of Cards/Envelp)
Book Depository Worldwide – https://www.bookdepository.com/National-Trust-Colouring-Cards-Envelopes-Flowers-Butterflies-Rebecca-Jones/9780857637321/?a_aid=colouringitmom

Can’t get enough? Check out the other available set here:
My Review – Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Nature
Amazon UK – The National Trust: Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Nature
Book Depository Worldwide – https://www.bookdepository.com/National-Trust-Colouring-Book-Cards-Envelopes-Nature-Rebecca-Jones/9780857637253/?a_aid=colouringitmom

Pre-order the future two sets here:
Summertime
Amazon UK – The National Trust: The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes – Summertime (Colouring Cards and Envelopes)
Book Depository Worldwide – http://www.bookdepository.com/The-National-Trust-The-Colouring-Book-of-Cards-and-Envelopes—Summertime-Rebecc-Jones/9780857637390/?a_aid=colouringitmom

Christmas
Book Depository Worldwide – http://www.bookdepository.com/The-National-Trust-Colouring-Book-of-Cards-and-Envelopes-Christmas-Rebecc-Jones/9780857637260/?a_aid=colouringitmom

The card and envelope below were coloured using Stabilo 88 Fineliners and Stabilo 68 Fibre-tips.

The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Nature – A Review

Disclaimer – Please read this disclosure about my use of affiliate links which are contained within this post.
The National Trust: Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Nature are published and very kindly sent to me to review by Nosy Crow Publishing. These cards are the first of two sets, with two more publishing later in the year with a Summer and Christmas theme (I already can’t wait for these)! This book is fantastically well made and everything has been thought of, matched and produced with quality in mind. The book itself is large at 28cm square, it’s paperback with a flexible card cover with pink foiling lettering and detail. Inside the front cover are instructions detailing how to fold the envelopes for the cards. Following this are pages of colourable cards with two on each page connected by tabs on perforated pages which are very easy to remove from the book with no issues or bending and a thin strip that the perforation is attached to that you can cut off with scissors to neaten up the card edges. There are 24 cards, each with a unique design, and all 4 sides of the cards have illustrations on that you can colour including a “Coloured For You By…” section on the back, they measure 13.5cm square when folded. Following the card pages are 24 unique envelope designs that match the cards perfectly and are printed in the same order as the cards so it’s very easy to match up the paired cards and envelopes together. The envelopes have illustrations on the front, each of the four flaps, and the whole of the back of the page which makes up the inside of the envelope has a repeating design on it that can be coloured if you wish. The folding instructions are very clear and easy to follow and the pre-scored lines on the cards and envelopes allow for a perfect fold every time. On the very last page of the book are 24 circular stickers with matching designs to seal the envelopes with. One small gripe I have is that these stickers are arranged in a random order and it’s not clear which card many of them are designed for, with many being suitable for a number of cards which just irks the perfectionist in me.

The designs themselves are utterly charming and absolutely adorable. This set is my favourite of the current two because of the sheer number of super sweet animals on the cards and they’re just a delight to colour. The illustrations include blushing foxes, families of otters, peaceful fish and duck ponds, deer, squirrels, owls, badgers, mice, rabbits, and lots more creatures. Every aspect of every card, envelope and sticker is unique, there are no doubled up/rearranged designs, and no corners have been cut. The cards feel luxurious and are extremely well made, I couldn’t ask for more from a set of colouring cards, and with an RRP of just £7.99, often being found for under £5 they’re an absolute bargain and I’m sure I’ll be purchasing set after set of these.

In terms of mental health, I personally found these cards absolutely fantastic. I’ve been having a rough few weeks jam-packed with anxiety and these cards have really helped me to calm down, zone out, and focus on a manageable project which I could colour in sections or larger bits when I was feeling better. The line thickness is thin throughout and the images are mostly very intricate and detailed with a few larger spaces on leaves and petals but predominantly each image consists of lots of teeny tiny elements so these cards are definitely for those of you with pretty good vision and fine motor control (the press release states that they’re suitable for children age 4+ but I strongly disagree as the designs are simply too small and will surely frustrate children under the age of around 10). The image content is really natural and has a childlike quality which adds so much charm and character to the illustrations and is sure to brighten the darkest of days and spread a little cheer, no matter how low you’re feeling. The cards take a surprisingly long time to colour so you get hours and hours of enjoyment from this book and you can really spread the colouring love by posting them coloured or even uncoloured to family and friends.

If you’d like to purchase a set, they’re available here:
Amazon UK – The National Trust: Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Nature
Book Depository Worldwide – https://www.bookdepository.com/National-Trust-Colouring-Book-Cards-Envelopes-Nature-Rebecca-Jones/9780857637253/?a_aid=colouringitmom

Can’t get enough? Check out the other available set here:
My Review – Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Flowers and Butterflies
Amazon UK – The National Trust: Colouring Cards and Envelopes – Flowers and Butterflies (Colouring Book of Cards/Envelp)
Book Depository Worldwide – https://www.bookdepository.com/National-Trust-Colouring-Cards-Envelopes-Flowers-Butterflies-Rebecca-Jones/9780857637321/?a_aid=colouringitmom

Christmas
Book Depository Worldwide – http://www.bookdepository.com/The-National-Trust-Colouring-Book-of-Cards-and-Envelopes-Christmas-Rebecc-Jones/9780857637260/?a_aid=colouringitmom

The card and envelope below were coloured using Stabilo 88 Fineliners and Stabilo 68 Fibre-tips.

Art Therapy Coloring Kit – A Review

Disclaimer – Please read this disclosure about my use of affiliate links which are contained within this post.
Art Therapy Coloring Kit is published by Running Press and is from my personal collection. This is just about the cutest colouring kit I’ve ever seen and as soon as I saw it online in a colouring group I went straight on Amazon and snapped it up and when it arrived the next day I was even more blown away by it and had to review it right away for you all. This is the PERFECT colouring kit to pop in your handbag for that on-the-go colouring fix that I know so many of you crave. It’s small enough to put in the glove box in your car, in your handbag, in your luggage, in a rucksack, the only place it won’t fit is a pocket because it’s a bit too cube-y! The kit is about the size of two packs of playing cards stacked on top of each other and it’s all boxed up in a really thick cardboard case which will take a lot of battering before it begins to show wear and tear. The side is magnetised with a really strong magnet so it won’t accidentally open up and spill its contents in your bag. When you open the kit up it has two turquoise-blue boxes which are firmly secured to the outer casing and are covered in lovely black and white patterns giving you a hint at what’s inside. The box on the left contains 10 mini colouring pencils (with space for a small pencil sharpener – very handy) and the box on the right contains 50 (yes that’s right, a whopping 50!) playing card sized images for you to colour. Each of the cards is backed with the same turquoise-blue colour as the boxes so this is a beautifully cohesive set which has most certainly not been thrown together in a hurry but has instead been created with a huge amount of attention to detail. As with all of the other Art Therapy books and stationery items, a splash of colour is added to each image in the form of a small coloured section, a background, or even the design being drawn in colour rather than black lines. The majority of the cards are white with coloured backgrounds and they are made of thick card which looks smooth but not at all shiny and feels slightly rough meaning it was perfect for my pencils and my water-based pens which didn’t bleed in any direction either sideways or through the card and there was no shadowing at all. The pencils in the kit are pictured below and the colours you receive are: Red, Orange, Yellow, Light Green, Dark Green, Light Blue, Dark Blue, Purple, Pink and Brown, so a really good selection and they’re great if you’re completely new to colouring or you forget your mediums and need a colouring fix while you’re out.

The cards themselves contain a really wide variety of images and are very varied in style too. Many of the cards have animals pictured including bears, squirrels, birds, butterflies, insects, an elephant, an owl, a frog, an octopus, a deer and more! Some are patterned with circles, swirls, and paisleys. Others have a decorative frame which can be coloured with space in the centre where you could leave it blank, draw something or even write a message. Others still, have patterns started for you but with plenty of blank spaces where you can just colour in blocks or continue creating your own patterns (see photo below of the image I continued) but you will need a good set of fineliners for this, my recommendation would be Staedtler 308 WP4 Pigment Liner Fineliner Technical Drawing Pens Assorted Line Width – Set of 4 and I used the 0.1 size pigment liner which was the perfect thickness. You could use the black from any normal fineliner set but the ink will run if you then try to colour with pens because they’re both made of water-based ink rather than being pigment liners like the set I recommended so just bear that in mind. The cards would be perfect to keep in the set once coloured, sent to friends or family to brighten up their day, great for writing messages on, or even incorporating into craft projects – the small designs would be ideal for adding to homemade cards either coloured or uncoloured for that extra wow factor!

In terms of mental health, this kit is ideal for those of you who use colouring for therapy and might need a quick fix at any moment whilst out of the house. It’s small, compact and contains everything you need to be able to colour away your worries and restore some calm again. This kit won’t take up half of your handbag and the cards are small so each project doesn’t take very long, meaning you can get colouring satisfaction pretty quickly. My only criticism is that the line thickness is spindly thin throughout and the images range from intricate and detailed to so intricate and detailed that you couldn’t possibly colour in each section separately so I’m afraid this kit is only for those of you with very good vision and pretty much perfect fine motor control or you’ll just find it more frustration than it’s worth as you’ll be going over the lines constantly. This is the only critical point though in an otherwise perfect kit! Some of the cards have space to add doodles, as I mentioned before, so those of you who like to draw will particularly like being able to personalise the images. You will need good concentration, not because of the length of time it’ll take to colour but because of the precision you’ll need to use to make it look really good. The fact that each card has colour added is a huge bonus in my opinion because each one is started for you and for those of you who are anxious, this might just give you the push you need to just start colouring instead of agonising over colour schemes. Many people view the added colour as restrictive to begin with but I have found, over time, that it’s actually really freeing (you can read more about my experience of this in my reviews of the Art Therapy books linked below). These cards are so bright, cheerful, and beautifully drawn that they’re sure to brighten up the darkest of days and lift your mood when you need it most, even just looking through them has cheered me up and colouring them takes so much concentration that my anxiety melted away within minutes because I couldn’t focus on worrying and trying to stay within the lines at the same time!

I would highly recommend this colouring kit to anyone with great vision and fine motor control who wants to colour lots of mini pictures, would like to colour on the move, or who loves the Art Therapy series and their unique feature of pre-added colour. This kit is fabulously priced, ideal for taking with you anywhere and great for spreading the colouring love with your family and friends. If you’d like to purchase a kit it’s available here:
Amazon UK – Art Therapy Coloring Kit

If you like the style of drawings or the variety of images, or the idea of pre-added colour and would rather have this in much larger images and in book format then look no further than the Art Therapy series of books which I have reviewed here, there is also a postcard book in the series which is the last link in the list:

Art Therapy Postcards

The images below were coloured using:
Poppies – Stabilo Point 88 Fineliners and Staedtler triplus fineliners
Fox – Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencils
Doodled boxes – Staedtler Pigment Fineliners and Stabilo Point 88 Fineliners
Fish – Stabilo Point 88 Fineliners