I purchased this coloring book with my own money. I was not financially compensated in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my observations while using this book. This post does contain affiliate links.
Since I have been struggling with increased arthritis pain in my hands, I have had to make some temporary adjustments to my coloring “habits.” I have put away my very-loved, but very detailed, Johanna Basford and Kerby Rosanes coloring books for the time being and have been looking for coloring books that are a bit easier on my hands.
After reading a lot of reviews, I bought a copy of Simple 1-2-3 ™ In the Garden Color & Frame coloring book featuring the art of Lily Ashbury.
Overview
In the Garden is just one of fifteen “Color & Frame” coloring books published by New Seasons.
This particular coloring book from the series has flower and other garden-themed images to color.
The inside front and back covers show four of the designs colored-in for inspiration, if you want or need it.
Construction
In the Garden is 8″ x 10″ with 64 pages. The binding is spiral, so you can easily lay the book flat when coloring. The pages are perforated to make it easy to remove them for when you are coloring, or afterwards for displaying. The front and back covers are glossy and medium weight – you will most likely want to place the book on a hard surface, like a table or clipboard.
The images are printed only on one side of the paper. The paper itself is white, medium weight and does have some tooth. The tooth means that alcohol-based markers, and some juicier water-based ones (such as Prismacolor Scholar brush-tips) do bleed on the design. When I colored with my Adaxi alcohol-based art markers the ink bled through the paper and spotted on the next page; make sure to put a sheet of paper under the design you are coloring if you don’t remove the illustration from the book beforehand or you will ruin the subsequent design.
I did test my Prismacolor Premier colored pencils on one design: the colors laid down beautifully and layering, shading and blending were easy. The smooth texture ensured solid coverage and minimal, at most, white spotting.
I ended up using the title page of the book to see how my tools would work on the paper, and was able to adjust how hard or gently I colored to minimize bleeding on the designs and maximize color intensity.
Print quality is excellent – no pixelation.
Designs
Most of the designs in In the Garden are flower-related repeating designs, like you might find on wallpaper. Some illustrations also have an animal or two, such as birds, deer and insects. Line work is light-to-medium throughout
Twenty-two of the designs fill the page, so that some of the illustration not only crosses over the perforation but also runs into the spiral binding. As the majority of these are patterns, that is not an issue if you intend to remove them for displaying.
Difficulty
Overall, I rate this coloring book on the easier end of the difficulty scale. There are a few more challenging designs with tiny elements; these may be challenging for those with a visual or motor impairment.
Therapeutic Value
I was able to finish most of the illustrations in one sitting. As such, most of the designs will give you a sense of accomplishment no matter how you are feeling or what kind of mood you are in.
My Rating of this Coloring Book: 4★
In the Garden is a relatively easy, well-priced, garden-themed adult coloring book. The 32 illustrations are printed single-sided and elements are, for the most part, relatively easy to color. This would make a great coloring book for a beginner colorist as well as anyone with motor impairment.
| PROS | CONS |
| Single-side pages | Marker bleeding |
| Spiral binding | Some images cross perforations |
| Pages perforated | Needs solid surface |
What do you think of this coloring book? Let us know in the comments section below!