First off, I want to say that if you’re looking for an entry about Cozy Mysteries, this entry isn’t for you. However, if you’re looking for a phenomenal way to be Cozy while watching an old movie, then read on!
Way back in September, I asked what types of things you all do for relaxation. I mentioned that a friend of mine enjoys adult coloring books, and some of you commented that you do, too. My daughter suggested that I might enjoy adult coloring books >>> so I bought a three (Halloween, autumn, and Christmas) themed adult coloring books.
Most of you have probably gathered (from my monthly mystery television entries) that I love old, black and white movies. If I’m relaxing, I’m either reading a Cozy or watching an old movie. However (and that’s a big HOWEVER!) I’m not good at just sitting and watching a movie. I have to actually be doing something else while I watch a movie.
Getting back to my adult coloring books…
After I finished a few of the pictures, I didn’t know quite what to do with them. When my children were little, the refrigerator door was a great candidate for “storing” them, but at my age, well, you understand…
That’s when I started thinking about other types of coloring that adults can do, that would enable us to put them to good use. I went online and immediately discovered three ways that I can actually put my adult coloring to good use >>> calendars, stationery, and postcards. (Who’d ‘a thunk it?!)
Now that I have finally solved the question of what to do with my masterpieces, I just have to decide how to prioritize my relaxation time: reading, crocheting, bead cross-stitching, puzzle-making, or adult coloring!
Donna says
Oh boy! I went straight to amazon and ordered several books. Thank for the tip.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna, I thought these were ideal ways to get the relaxation and a great use out of them…
Laura says
I like them for the relaxation factor. I had not yet given any thought to what to do with them next. I do have some empty frames…
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Laura, they aren’t quite as relaxing as, let’s say, my puzzles. I have gotten a little OCD about staying in the lines, etc!
Rosie says
Not sure how you mean to use them. I just got some and would love to see how you did use them. I’m thinking of scanning mine (when i get one done,lol) then size them to print out for card fronts.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Rosie, I take them out of the book before I color them on a clip board, but all I’ve done with them once they’re completed is put them right back into the book. Not very imaginative. I really like your idea of scanning them. I might do that and then use the other side as stationery. (I try to send snail mail letters and cards to my mom several times during the month, and these would probably be great if I wrote on the back side.
Kimberley says
I gave my husband an adult coloring book, pencils for Christmas. I was wary; didn’t think he would like it. Well, he loves it. He, too was skeptical but now will spends hours! So much for my “honey do list” getting done! LOL!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Kimberley, I guess that now that he likes these coloring books so much and he’s used to being able to use them whenever he wants, it’s too late to tell him that he can use them after he finishes your honey do lists! 😉
Linda C says
I can’t stand to just sIt in front of the Tv and do nothing, especially while watching a ballgame. I need to have something for my hands to be doing. The adult coloring books would be another thing to do besides my crochet.
Some of the arts and crafts stores have priced these coloring books too high but stores like Krogers and WalMart are more reasonable.
Sharon B says
I love the Cozy mystery books. I have not found one that I do not like.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sharon B, I wish I had as good of luck as you have had. Unfortunately, I have found some that I don’t like at all. But the nice thing about that is there are so many from which to choose, and I always seem to have (almost!) too many in my TBR pile!
Rob says
I agree Danna: Those coloring books are very relaxing. I received two for Christmas but what do you use to color with? The popular answer from friends that have picked up this new craze is colored pencils, or gel pens? As I am new to this craft and usually knit or do needlework, what do you prefer?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Rob, I use just regular Crayola colored pencils. I’ve never tried the gel pens, but they might be fun to try.) As I mentioned before, since I color while watching movies, I first take the page I’m going to work on and put it on a clip board. My Crayola pencils work great.
Lee Ann says
If you use gel pens make sure you put a piece of paper behind it so it doesn’t bleed. Pencils are the best. Crayons work too.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lee Ann, that makes sense. Some of the coloring books say they’re made with thick enough paper to enable the use of gel pens, but I would think the paper would have to be super thick to do that without using a protective sheet of paper behind the picture. Thanks for the gel pens tip!
PamB says
I don’t have an adult coloring book yet but did enjoy coloring as a child. I’m thinking I might order postcards, color, write a note on it to each grandchild and mail with one for each to color and send back to me. Danna, thanks for sharing about the different coloring options. I think you should hang one on your fridge just to see what your husband says! I,too, am always doing something else when watching TV.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
PamB, what a wonderful idea. If I had grandchildren, I’d definitely use it! You sound like a very hands-on grandmother! (As soon as I saw the coloring calendars, I thought that I’d probably color one for grandchildren… if I had any. >>> Wishful thinking!
Lori says
I love to color! And I must’ve missed that entry. I’ve colored mandela’s in the past, and really liked it. But even that was years ago. And now I’ve found them in catalogs and I saw a commercial about something called pretty coloring. But once again these are books. I was think about wrapping paper. That would be a good one. Oops sorry
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lori, I wish we had talked about this before Christmas! We gave both of our children gifts that were in little boxes. My Christmas “masterpieces” would have been terrific for them.
Sierrapen says
While I’m not into coloring, my granddaughter is. I will be sending her the postcard coloring projects. She will just love it. Thank you for the suggestion.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sierrapen, and I’m guessing she’ll get a real kick sending some to you! Great idea!
Grammar Gramma says
Just so you know, you spelled a word incorrectly. If you spell it “stationary”, that is like bath tub – something that doesn’t move. If you spell it “stationery”, that is where you write a letter. The easiest way to remember which is which is to remember the A in bAth goes in stationAry and the E in lEtter goes in stationEry. Other than that, I really enjoy your website and have read many book you recommended. Keep up the good work, but use Spell Check.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Grammar Gramma, thanks so much. I’m sure glad you enjoy my site. (How embarrassing for me! I did use spell check, however I didn’t consult a dictionary.)
P.S. Also, I changed it, and even though it is correct now, it sure does look wrong to me. I hope others know about your A VS E trick!
Donna Mc says
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing this, Danna. I still like to color, and recently found out that one of my friends does too – so I will be getting this for her birthday present. 🙂
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna Mc, oh my gosh, it’s crazy when you find out a friend and you share a same “like” and you just never knew about it! You and your friend just finding out about this reminds me of my friend coming into my house and finding out I love puzzle-making because I didn’t “tidy up” my puzzle before she came in.
Kim says
Re coloring…there are many U Tubes explaining the various uses of pencils vs gel pens, which brand works best, how to shade and blend colors, etc. I suspect there is more value to the process rather than the end point. I have little use for postcards or even writing paper these days albeit nice to send such once in awhile. If I complete a colored page that is lovely to look at, I will simply put it on the frig or make a bulletin board. It is fun to do with friends, grand kids along with Zen tangle.
Re other crafty indoor items…I spin wool, knit a bit, make quilts from wool batts from my sheep ( currently have none but saved wool from my flock), am learning to weave with a simple peg loom. I do needle felting once in awhile. Horse, dog care, hiking keep us busy but as we age, these indoors hobbies are getting more attention. Of course reading has always been number one. There always seems to be a pile waiting. I am plowing through the latest Patricia Cornwell, awaiting the new Bill Bryson release and of course have the usual cozies. And Ms Marple is so soothing to watch at night…..
Kim
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Kim, wow! You are one very, very busy lady! I’m doing well just getting my 10,000 steps in each day. As a matter of fact, I use my relaxation activities as an incentive to get that doggone walking done…
Andi says
I just recently tried to do some coloring and indeed it is very relaxing. I was talking to my mom (89 yrs old) about it & she sounded skeptical. She called yesterday and said that when she & my sister went to do their errands yesterday, she suggested they go to the 99 Cent store to see if they could find some–and my sister told her she had decided to take her there & surprise her by getting some! They found some very nice ones, not a whole lot of pages so lightweight. I am so happy for her, my sister who lives w/her now works & is gone a lot, so she does word puzzles/jumbles etc. & can read for awhile (Jan Karon), watches TV but gets tired of that. I have found some wonderful postcards and also, as readers look for some bookmarks! I found some great ones w/quotes about books–I hope to find more. Some for me and some for a nice little gift to give someone who has blessed me.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Andi, it sounds like you two sisters are really taking good care of your mom. I read all of the activities you mom does while your sister is at work, and thought about another one she might enjoy. Does your sister have access to a library system with audio books? I remember that I first read Jan Karon’s books by listening to them on cassettes from my library. The reader (John McDonough) is terrific!
Denise says
What can I say? I admit that for years I was a closet colorer as people looked at me kind of funny when I’d tell them I enjoyed coloring. I had a first grader who had some issues and I could tell what kind of morning he had had before he got to school by whether or not he reached for the paper and a box of crayons- when he did I would let him be and in about 20- 30 minutes he would be in a much better place and ready to join in with our day.
There were days when I wished I could do the same and stop the craziness . I have several books winter scenes , fall scenes , some kiddie ones from the dollar store but my favorite is the Ugly Christmas Sweater one . Was in Michaels yesterday and I saw that they now have Game of Thrones , Harry Potter and New York City coloring books as well. Wonder what they will come up with next?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Denise, I love your term “closet colorer”! It sounds like coloring was really therapeutic for you son. That way he was ready to head out to school, getting a better start for his day.
Yikes! You’re not kidding about Harry Potter coloring books! I just checked on Amazon and see many of them. And then I looked at Game of Thrones, but there’s only one.
Kim says
There is something special about coloring…could it be the actual color itself more so than the act of coloring? An artist friend said she loved to paint because she craved color. Another person said something similar re the reason she collected so many skeins of wool in different colors and textures.
I just finished a nice evening with my grand child, age nine. She was so excited over the glitter, neon and pastel colors that came in the new pack of 64 gel pens. I loved trying all of those pens out as well. It was nice to fill in the shapes but for us, it was all about seeing those wonderfully vibrant colors, playing off each other…remember how neat it was to open a new pack of crayons when you were maybe five years old?
How neat to find such a stress buster! Kim
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Kim, I see that some people are able to shade colors together to create new colors and give their pages depth. I’m afraid my coloring isn’t at all complicated. I just try to stay in the lines!
I love the way gel pens glide on a page. However, there’s something extra special with a brand new box of crayons. You have brought back some very special memories! The simple pleasures of childhood…
Ann says
The postcards are a great idea. I love coloring with my grandkids so this would be a lovely adult one for me to do.
Ann
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ann, I loved coloring with my children when they were young. I’m sure I would love it with grandchildren, too…
Amy says
Well, you finally convinced me to start! Just ordered a winter scene coloring book as well as some good colored pencils. Plan on spending next snowy weekend coloring in front of the fireplace!
p.s. I LOVED that September blog post about relaxation – it was one of my favorite posts! Love getting ideas on how to incorporate a “cozy” lifestyle! 🙂
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Amy, I liked that entry, too. I like seeing what other Cozy Mystery readers do to relax >>> when they aren’t reading, of course!
Echo says
Just for info — there are several sites on internet that have free downloads — regular adult coloring books — also — what started out as “doodle” coloring books, then branched into “zen-doodle” that has exploded into a tremendous amount available. Downloading helps a lot when budget (soc sec) gets tight. I listen to audiotapes from Braille library – as my eyesight isn’t the best for reading –so listening and coloring are great for stress relief. Local braille library is very deficient in Cozy Mystery — Local library didn’t have many recorded books — Have discovered – after talking to another Braille library agency — the BARD program from which i can download lots of talking books from Library of Congress on flash drive — I checked one name on their list and there’s all her books — “Sally Goldenbaum — after I get a flash drive – the nice guy is going to walk me through learning — onward and upward with Cozy Mystery books and colloring.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Echo, thanks for the information about the BARD program for the blind!
Susan* says
A local store over here now carries ‘adult’ Dot-To-Dot books as well! Lol! Instead of going only to 30 or 40 or even 100, these go to 1,000 dots per picture!!
Buildings, Great Works of Art (Mona Lisa, etc), and similar seem to be the subjects of these. Those that I’ve seen anyway. An interesting variation on the colouring books.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan*, I saw some of those dot-to-dots at Michael’s the other day. I think I’d have to use a magnifying glass to be able to connect the dots where they are all jumbled together!
Kim says
Wow, this topic is sure generating some interest. Re pens, vs pencils..I have used both. The higher quality pencils like Prisma colored impart more color to the page, seem softer than the children’s standard issue type which are much harder. Those less costly pencils have less pigment.
I have also experimented with higher quality gel pens…they glide easily, offer gorgeous color saturation and so far have not bled through the pages. But I bought the pricier types, admittedly of both book and gel pen.
I did view a video of colored pencil technique..at first I was dismissive of it…sounded too tedious. But then I saw the results….wow…quite lovely. The technique involved blending several colors of say, for example, blue…a tiny brush was used to soften the edges, sweep the color of one darker blue onto the lighter. This all involved pencils, not gel which may dry and not lend itself to this. The end result looked like a sunset fading from one color into another..i
We all know it is not rocket science but we can save that level brain power for other endeavors…hm, maybe reading a cozy??
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Kim, while I was buying my coloring books, I saw the Prismacolor colored pencils that you mentioned have gotten really good reviews. My husband thought I should go with those, but I decided to try out the Crayola colored pencils at the beginning of my adult coloring venture. (I’m still not blending or doing anything fancy.) Your description of the blending sounds like something I can aspire to!
I like your idea about saving our brain power for reading Cozies!