Cat Coloring Book Give-Away!!! "Curious Cats" by Susan T. Hall

In honor of National Coloring Book Day (which happens to be TODAY) I am pleased to present one of the most darling coloring books I have ever seen!

The cover is beyond adorable and is certain to make you want to POUNCE INSIDE!!!

"Explore Space, the Sea & More

with these Far-Out Felines"

The darling kitties in this book are "out of this world!!" There are "THIRTY imaginative illustrations that feature cats napping on Neptune, singing songs   atop Saturn, hanging around a crescent moon, and frolicking among backdrops bursting with stars flowers, fish, and other fun-to-color images."

Here is the page that I colored:

I am beyond upset that the past few months have been BEYOND INSANE (part of the insanity is we are waiting for our first grandchild to be born any day now!), and I haven't been able to find the time to color that I would have liked to have had. 

The creator of this precious book, Susan T. Hall, seriously has to be one of the NICEST people I have met. There were a number of times I was going to blog about this fabulous book, but I postponed because I wanted to have time to color, and Susan graciously kept telling me to "take my time!!" Because things are about to become crazier, I did NOT want her to have to wait any longer.  Fall is approaching and there will be MANY rainy/cold days that I will want to color, stay tuned because as I complete more pages I will feature them. Here are a couple that I am excited to begin coloring!

FROM SUSAN T. HALL:"I had such a good time drawing these, coming up with visual puns, researching cosmic bodies, adding nonsense and sprinkling a touch of anything else that I love into these illustrations. The ideas flowed easily and it felt like they drew themselves!"

Coloring books were a staple in my home when I was a little girl, and when I have the time, I love how when I open a coloring book, it takes me back to the days when my only worry was what color crayon to choose next! Even Susan's cats know that coloring is relaxing and soothing and that it is a hobby we all should do more of!

Meet Susan's kitties, Sundance and Cocoa. They are not only excellent models but they are PURRFECT artist assistants too!

Photo Courtesy of Susan T. Hall

Coco has to make sure that everything is PAWFECT!
Photo Courtesy of Susan T. Hall

National Coloring Book Day is a day to RELAX AND COLOR !! This would be the purrfect time to reward yourself and get your paws on this book!! Click here to visit Susan's website!

Susan currently lives in Dallas, Texas with Sundance and Cocoa.  She says "they have a way of making things right" which  ALL cat lovers can relate to! Susan is a freelance illustrator and yoga teacher. She has a Masters Degree in illustration from Syracuse University, and as she says, her "unofficial Social Expression Art Degree" is from working 12 years at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City. When you visit Susan's website be sure to click through to see her incredible illustrations, she has done TONS of them! CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A COPY OF THIS DARLING BOOK THAT IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON! 

GIVE-AWAY!!!

Susan is graciously and most generously offering TWO OF OUR READERS WHO RESIDE IN THE U.S. A COPY OF THIS DARLING BOOK!! (an approximate $5.99 value) I am going to make entering super easy and omit using Rafflecopter. IF YOU WISH TO BE ENTERED, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LEAVE A COMMENT THAT STATES THAT YOU WISH TO ENTER TO WIN A COPY. THAT'S IT!! THE GIVE-AWAY IS OPEN NOW AND WILL END AT 5PM ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8TH, THE WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG AND WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 9TH WHICH IS BOOK LOVER'S DAY!!

GOOD LUCK!!!

Cody and I would like to give a HUGE thank you to Susan for her patience while waiting for us to blog about this darling book. Susan is a true gem and her kitties are precious! 

DISCLOSURE:We received no compensation for featuring this book, we received a complimentary copy in exchange for our always honest opinion.

from Texas Tech University 

Winners of the Coloring Book: "All You Need Is Love...and a Cat" by Samantha Snyder

Thanks to all who entered our give-away for:

IT'S TIME TO ANNOUNCE

THE TEN LUCKY WINNERS!!!

YOU CAN SEE THEM LISTED BELOW

HUGE CONCATULATIONS!!

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Coloring Book Give-Away! All You Need Is Love...and a Cat: (Doodle Art Alley Books) (Volume 12) by Samantha Snyder (10 Winners! U.S. and Canada)

"Color Your Way to Fun, Inspiration and Relaxation"

I am a "doodler" from way back.  If  you are like me, often when you are on the phone or just daydreaming you have a note pad by your side, and you find yourself absent-mindedly making "doodles." A "doodle" may be scribbles, random lines and shapes which at first glance you may think  have no meaning or significance. I love to color and already have amassed quite an array of coloring books to indulge myself. I began coloring a few months ago when I read something that advised people to remember something from their childhood that they used to do all of the time that made them happy. For me, from as far back as I can remember, as soon as I could hold a crayon, I was either coloring, or drawing, or both.

When offered the opportunity to review All You Need Is Love...and a Cat by Samantha Snyder, I jumped at the chance!

Explore the art of doodling!!  Think your doodles are insignificant? Think again! Take a look at your doodles and with a little imagination, beautiful pictures can be created. FROM DOODLE ART ALLEY BOOKS:"Geometric and abstract designs along with wonderfully detailed art work can grow from one simple, single line. Even emotional and mental healing can stem from a tiny little mark. The ideas and creative pathways are endless."

FROM THE PUBLISHER:All You Need Is Love…and a Cat shares 50 doodle art images of inspiring proverbs, quotes, and sayings printed on one side of the page for all ages to color.

Quotes from famous authors include Robert Byrne, Charles Dickens, Robert A. Heinlein, Abraham Lincoln, Edgar Allen Poe, and Mark Twain. The book also includes proverbs and sayings from “Behind every great person is a great cat,” “Dogs have owners, cats have staff,” and “If stretching were wealth the cat would be rich” to “The cat is magical and the bringer of good luck” and “You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats.”

Each doodle art image has been carefully selected to provide plenty of enjoyment, inspiration, and relaxation.

I absolutely LOVE the quotes in this book and to give you an idea of what this book is like I took some time Friday and Saturday night and colored a few for you. When I color, I prefer using gel tipped pens. I know some people like colored pencils, and yes, crayons, but I don't. I find I have more control with the gel tipped pens, as well as better color quality.

The problem I ran into was a number of my pens chose to run out of ink on each and every drawing I did! So, I improvised in many cases and blended.

Some people think that when you color you MUST stay within the lines that already exist on the drawing. (When I was approximately 5 yrs old I cherished my coloring books and crayons, if any of my friends dared to color outside of the lines in my books it would destroy me! I would hand them one of my old books! Oh YES I DID!) Well, having "grown up", (which is open to debate, but I digress...), I have changed my outlook on staying within the lines. You do not have to! On all of my drawings I added color outside of the lines  wherever I saw fit. If you look at the picture below, this cat has stripes...you can see the black line where the stripes end, I chose to add color outside of the stripes and I like how it came out.

I also noticed on each of my drawings I seemed to have stayed with the same color scheme, (bet a shrink would have a field day with that!), and wasn't cognizant of it  until I was done.

Now, don't forget I rushed through these for review purposes, candidly speaking I am not thrilled with how they came out overall. For this type of a book I might have done better using colored pencils. 

Coloring IS supposed to relax MOST people (the operative word being MOST). Because I was going to major in Art, and I take whatever I create quite seriously, for me, it isn't as relaxing as it is for most. I have to make sure that my colors are balanced, etc., (just one of many personal quirks.)

MY OPINION?

 I enjoyed All You Need Is Love...and a Cat and would color in it at the times  when I want to do coloring that is less detailed.  Many would prefer these drawings because they will be finished much faster than drawings in some other books would be. I do LOVE my books that have complex and detailed drawings to color, but  All You Need Is Love...and a Cat would also be one that I would turn to, more than likely, when I have limited blocks of time to color.

This book would make a great stocking stuffer, gift for someone in the hospital, someone who wants to begin coloring, someone who loves cats...well, it would make a great gift across the board!

104 pages

ISBN: 978-0997102185

Author Bio:

Samantha Snyder has been doodling her whole life. While teaching elementary school, she often drew up coloring pages and printables for her students and fellow teachers. She decided to start sharing her creations and in 2008, Doodle Art Alley was founded. Doodle Art Alley is dedicated to giving those squiggly lines the proper credit they deserve. Who would have thought that such a small and simple idea could possess so much potential? There are lots of fun art activities, tips and information to read through and enjoy.

Visit http://www.doodle-art-alley.com for hundreds of exciting doodles.

"Explore the Magic of Doodle Art"

GIVE-AWAY!!! Now THIS IS GENEROUS! The publisher is offering a copy of All You Need Is Love...and a Cat to TEN of my readers (who are 18 and over and reside either in the U.S. or Canada). An approximate $10 value. Because everyone is busy getting ready for the holidays, there will only be ONE MANDATORY ENTRY OPTION ON THE RAFFLECOPTER!!! Good luck!!

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I was not compensated for this review or give-away. I was sent a copy of All You Need Is Love...and a Cat in exchange for my always honest review.