Jesus Calling Coloring Book: a review

So I’ll be honest. I’m new to the world of coloring and truthfully I could use your advice. I was thrilled to get the chance to review “Jesus Calling Creative Coloring and Hand Lettering” by Sarah Young because I truly am new to this form of creativity and the book itself is so inspiring. As much as I love creating art in my Bible through Bible Journaling and have even taught classes to young people and adults on that form of creative expression I’ve never even tried diving into a coloring book. The truth is the title “Jesus Calling” really drew me to this one since my Mom has been really enjoying a Jesus Calling devotional and then the inclusion of “hand lettering” in the subtitle confirmed it for me. I have really wanted to expand my ability in the hand lettering department and I wondered if maybe this might help.

When the book arrived I was thrilled with the quality of printing and the overall layout of the book. This would make an excellent gift for someone in your life. I’ve thought of several ladies who I would like to pass on a copy. In my circle of friends we have been talking a lot about self care and about a handful of spiritual disciplines including solitude and Lectio Divina.

We have been exploring how powerful quiet time with God and ourselves can be to stripping away the non essential things in our lives and how imperative it is we recognize who God created us to be and how He wants us to use ourselves and our time. I can see this coloring book being a tool to help keep my mind focused during these kinds of practices. I can also see it as a fun past time during other mindless activities. That being said this book is a beautiful tool and I hope you will pick one up.

I was particularly pleased with the variety I found in the illustrations, the styles of each page vary and I loved the Scripture passages and quotes chosen for the hand lettering passages. I love that some are based on things in nature others like the one pictures above are beautiful tributes to a variety of elements of faith and tradition like these stained glass windows. I do think this will be a great place for me to learn more about hand lettering and to practice a new font. Which I am excited to transfer into my Bible Journaling.

I have quite a few tools I pulled out to aid me in my first pages, but the truth is I am not certain what the best kinds of mediums for this particular creative outlet actually are. For those of you who have colored in “adult coloring books” before do you have recommendations. I utilized some great tools I had on hand like my Crayola Twistable Crayons (no link because online they want a fortune and they are just a few dollars at your local market or craft store) and my Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pens. I also pulled out my favorite Faber Castell Pitt Pen (Big Brush) that will be great for the hand lettering pages. But I’d love your insights and advice on your favorite coloring tools for these kinds of coloring books. I do plan to pull out my Prisma colored pencils and try those too. I want to explore a variety of mediums without feeling like I’ve ruined the pages of this beautiful book. It’s funny to me how I am less timid in my own Bible and in blank spaces then I have been in this book. That being said I’d love to try some other things too, so do let me know. Do you have favorites? Have you used neo color pastels or watercolors in a book like this? My wheels are turning.

This Faber Castell Pitt pen is a “go-to” for me in my Bible Journaling and I love how the brush tip looks on the hand lettering pages of the coloring book. Do you have other wider pens you’d recommend?

 

I received a copy of this book from Booklook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review. I’m so grateful for the chance to try something new to me!

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