Coloring: It’s Not Just for Kids!

Hosting a coloring party

Last spring, I picked up a new hobby: coloring. And no, it didn’t involve stealing my daughter’s coloring books! I ordered several coloring books geared toward adults and some fancy art pencils on Amazon and started spending a little time each evening coloring. After chasing my 3 year old around all day, I’ve found it to be a great way to relax. I enjoy my new hobby so much that I decided I should share it with my friends, so earlier this month I hosted my first coloring party! The party (and the hobby) garnered a lot of interest so I thought I’d share what I’ve learned!

Why Color?

  • It relaxes you. There is something about the feel of taking pencil to paper and creating colorful masterpieces that makes the worries of the day float away. Some are even calling it a form of meditation.
  • It connects you with your inner child (which can then connect you with your own child! Coloring together is so much fun!)
  • It forces you to unplug. I am a chronic multitasker. I often have my phone and laptop in use at the same time checking emails, Facebook, texts, and oh yeah, the Royals game is usually on in the background, too. When I color I sometimes leave the TV on, but to really focus and relax it’s best to turn the TV off, set the phone aside, and turn on some relaxing music. Feel free to pour a glass of wine too, although too much might impair your ability to color within the lines.

The Books:

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Coloring books designed for adults can be found online (Amazon or Barnes and Noble) and I’ve also seen them at Michaels and Costco. There are also sites that allow you to download coloring pages for free – Pinterest is a great way to find them. There are different styles” of adult coloring books, including flowers, animals, mosaics, mandalas, paisleys, etc. I’m personally drawn to the nature based coloring books filled with intricate designs of flowers and leaves.

The Supplies:

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I love coloring with my Prismacolor Premier colored pencils. I bought a set of 48 on Amazon and then picked up a few individual pencils from the art section at Michaels to round out my collection. Gel pens and fancy markers are also popular among the “colorists” that are serious about coloring as a hobby.

The Party:

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I decided I wanted to share my love of coloring with my friends and thought it would be a fun and kind of quirky mom’s night out. I posted an invite in my mom’s group and capped it at 10 people since my house is small, and I only have 2 tables. Clearly other moms were in the mood to try out this coloring thing because all the spots were taken within a couple of hours!

I provided all of the coloring supplies, a couple of pizzas, and plenty of drinks (alcoholic ones included of course!) I asked my guests to bring an appetizer or dessert to share.

For the party, I put my Prismacolor pencils out for my friends to try but I also provided crayons and thin markers to experiment with. I printed out a variety of coloring pages, many from this blog.

We had so much fun coloring, chatting and snacking. I’ve already scheduled my next party for October, and once again all of the spots filled up immediately. Next time, I will have to snap a picture of our completed works of art. It was so fun to see the different ways we each colored our pages!

Have any of you tried coloring or hosted a coloring party?

Julia Willhite
I'm Julia and I live in Olathe with my husband of 16 years, my 10 and 6 year old daughters, and our rescue pug Mabel. I’m a social worker turned SAHM and love Dr. Pepper, thunderstorms, and talking to other adults. I hate coffee, diet culture, and washing dishes. I'll talk your ear off about the best local parks and which restaurants have wronged me by changing their long-standing menu items. I try to walk the line between knowing a lot of stuff and not being a know-it-all. Some days I'm better than others.