I did not buy into the adult colouring book hype, when it came into fruition a while ago. Of course when I was a kid I would use colouring books, painting by numbers and all sorts of fun, crafty things. But you know, I grew up. Like everyone else. I wasn’t interested in these things anymore. I wanted to listen to music, play video games, go out with my friends. Then I got even older (ugh!) and I had to do college work, find a job and grow up a bit. And now at the tender age of 25 I’m right back to where I started.
I’m not sure when and why colouring books came back into style but more specifically, colouring books for adults. But when I first heard about it, my instantly reaction was simple “meh”. I had no feelings either way. It wasn’t something I was going to invest in; I didn’t have the time or the patience and I didn’t buy into the whole “it calms you down and de-stresses you” thing. Like, with my incredibly anal and organised Type A personality, I’m more likely going to stress myself out by not being neat enough.
Then I bought one. And my thoughts were confirmed. This was crap. This is not relaxing. This is not de-stressing. Either everyone else was just saying it was to look “relevant” and go along with the crowd or I’m just not wired the same as anyone else. So that was that, my colouring book venture was over.
Until last year, I was sent some gorgeous products from Ryman Stationery. I was able to pick out a few products and lo and behold… I chose a colouring book. Why? I don’t really know but I had seen these gorgeous Enchanted Forest and Jungle colouring books everywhere. They were stunning, I’ll give them that. The illustrations are incredibly detailed. This colouring book sat in my drawer from after writing the post until a couple of months ago when I bought myself some felt tip pens and actually gave it a go (pencils annoy me).
And I was pleasantly surprised and how I felt about it. This wasn’t so bad after all. It’s actually quite nice. I’ll stick some music on whilst I do it as well. Was my mind changing? Yes, it was. I think I just hadn’t found the right book, wasn’t in the right state of mind or using the right materials in order to actually enjoy adult colouring books. But now that I have, my mind has completely changed. And here’s a few reasons why.
- I found out that my Mum loves colouring too. Which I never knew about her. So we can both use this book and well, that’s nice.
- She also told me that every time she went round to see her granddad (my great granddad), he was always colouring. Which is lovely. Another little story I never knew and it seems like a bit of a family hobby.
- It is actually quite relaxing: It’s certainly helped me switch off a couple of times. The concentration involved doesn’t allow for you to think about much else, really.
- And it gives me something to work towards. We all know I like goals and achieving things. Well, just because a colouring book isn’t some massive achievement, it doesn’t mean I’m not still working towards an end goal: of getting that picture finished. And it’s incredibly satisfying when you get there!