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Break the Rules with Coloring

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This past spring, I published a coloring book of floral mandalas called Flowers All Around. (It’s available NOW on Amazon!) I had so much fun drawing these designs. I can honestly say it was one of my favorite personal projects I’ve ever done.




Mandala designs are popular in adult coloring for their repetitive and intricate nature. I like to draw them using floral elements because I’m obsessed with drawing flowers and patterns. I’ve created floral mandalas with a variety of media—paint, pencil, ink, digital, etc. I often draw them when I don’t know what to draw. So I had a lot of practice before I got the idea to even make this book.

Adult coloring books are a great way to relieve stress and create works of art in the process. These aren’t the brand of coloring books you used as a kid. These designs are often very detailed and can be beautiful and sophisticated—though there are some fun quirky ones as well. There are adult coloring books for just about any subject matter you can think…
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Real-Life Floral Patterns

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I love, love, love floral patterns. Much of the time, I can be found doodling and painting them, but ever since I discovered people making art with real flowers (see links at the end of the post), I've been inspired to try it myself. And let me tell you, I LOVED IT. I picked up a colorful bouquet from my local grocery store and used the different flowers and parts of the flowers to create both all-over and round patterns. I can see potential here for incorporating photo prints of my favorite pieces into my home decor. See the results below...

The original bouquet

The bouquet disassembled
























I really enjoyed making these, and I plan to find time to do it again soon. I hope you are all enjoying the wonderful spring weather and take time to admire the colorful blooms of the season.

Make something beautiful today!
Niki



LINKS

Here are a few of my favorite Instagrammers who create wonderful pieces of art with flowers and other plants.
Flora Forager (@flora.forager)
Face the Foliage (@facethefoliage)
Helen Ahpornsiri (@helenahpornsiri)


RELATED POSTS

May Flowers



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**UPDATE - 2015** The miniature sweater knitting pattern has been revised.  View/Download the new pattern here:
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