Written by : Jim Goldʉۢ

Color Yourself Happy

Here’s a new twist on stress reduction. More adults are turning off phones and tablets, putting credit scores, diets and gym workouts out of their minds, and picking up crayons and coloring books for their relaxation and self-expression.

Not your 5-year-old's coloring books

A new top seller on Amazon is simply titled Adult Coloring Book and is full of intricate "stress relieving patterns" from geometric shapes to fleur de lis.

Selling more than 1 million copies and helping launch the coloring craze is 2013's Secret Garden, by Johanna Basford, whose pen-and-ink illustrations come to life as you discover tiny creatures and complete her scenes.

Become mesmerized by the patterns

"Chances are last time you spent an hour or so coloring in you didn't have a mortgage and you weren't worried about a nagging boss or the financial crisis!" Johanna says. "Coloring in seems to help people

think about a time when life was simpler and more carefree." Adult colorists can't wait for her next book, The Lost Ocean: An Underwater Adventure & Coloring Book, on sale Oct. 27.


Jim Gold is a veteran journalist who splits his time between Seattle and the Bay Area.

(Visited 102 times, 1 visits today)