Five Wonderful and Spooky Halloween Coloring Books

Oooo there is a little nip in the air--so that means Halloween can't be too far away!

I have gathered up five wonderfully spooky coloring books for you to enjoy.

1. The Beauty of Horror: a GOREgeous Coloring Book by Alan Robert.
This is for anyone that might be a bit sick of flowers and mandalas. But buckle up! Not for the faint of heart.



                                                                    Click to Buy

2. Jasmine Becket-Griffith Halloween Coloring Book. This is perfect for Becket-Griffith fans, or anyone who loves the dark side of pretty.



                                           Click to Buy


Penelope's Garden, An Enchanted Coloring Book by Dea Lenihan. This book is filled with zombie mice, a nightshade garden, and an adorable witch named Penelope. Spooky cuteness for all ages.



                                           Click to Buy

4. Night Magic Gothic and Halloween Coloring Book by Selena Fenech.  Sweet, sexy, and magical witches, vampires, and more!



                                                   Click to Buy

5. Hanted House by Jade Summer. This easy to color book shows all the spooky rooms of a haunted house. Old fashioned Halloween fun!



                                            Click to Buy

With three spooky/witchy books and one straight up horror and a haunted house--how can you go wrong!

Each of the designers listed has more coloring books to buy--check them out!

Happy (very early) Halloween shopping everyone!

xo

A Colored Pic from PENELOPE'S GARDEN

Here is an imaged from my book PENELOPE'S GARDEN that was colored by Ronda Francis. I just love it.

CLICK HERE and purchase before price increase!

Looking forward to more images colored by YOU.

xo

Drawn by me, colored by Ronda--LOVE. xo

Buy PENELOPE'S GARDEN HERE

Witches Brew Tea While You Color

Today as I set up my area to start another drawing, and realized that part of my drawing ritual involved tea. 

In the summer as I sit with the doors opened overlooking the cove I drink iced tea. But now there is a bite in the air and I find myself putting on the kettle.

As I waited for the water to boil I moistened the rim of the teacup and dipped it into a plate covered with brown sugar--kind of like an autumn margarita. Then I added spice to my cup of Afternoon Tea by Crabtree and Evelyn. Just a pinch of allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. I added a star anise and stirred with a cinnamon stick.

This nice warm tea was just what the doctor ordered on such a cold and blustery day. 

So grab your colored pencils and your favorite Halloween coloring book, or my new one if you like, PENELOPE'S GARDEN, and get to coloring with a nice warm cup of Witches Brew Tea.

Enjoy!

Here is a quickie video with instructions for delicious Witches Brew. If you make it tell me if you like!

xo

Here Comes Halloween and Penelope the Witch

Jack o'lanterns, ghosts and ghoulies, and things that go bump in the night! 

We are entering that delightfully shivery time of year when the days grow shorter and darker, and the veil between the worlds thins. The perfect time of year for Penelope the witch to make her debut!

Cute enough for even the most faint of heart, but still surrounded by pumpkins, bats, and even a Venus fly trap or two, this little witch may steal your heart.

Working diligently to get her done for you by October 1st so you can light your pumpkin scented candles and drink your Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte while you color.

Penelope picking Love Heart Daisies for a potion

 Please tell me if you like her, or if you can think of anything you would like to see growing in her midnight garden.

xo

Working on a Book

My version of Old Barney in LBI--haunted.

The shivery Halloween season is upon us, my favorite time of year.

Although it won't be ready this year, I am working on another book for kids.

I used to love spooky books as a girl, and now I am just as thrilled to write them today.

So here's the thing: like many authors, I'm sure, the ideas for books come to me rapid-fire. I write them in notebooks, dictate them to Notes in my iPhone, or scribble them where ever I can--napkins included.

At home I quickly type the first draft into Word before I forget the feel of the story.

Then comes the hard part.

For me, the illustrations grind the creative process to almost a halt. It's not that I don't have the pictures in my head that go with the story, but the pictures seem to take a loooong time. Even compared to edit after edit of the writing, the drawings drive me nuts.

Penelope the Witch from a soon to be book.

To make it even more weird, I love to draw. If one of my books was being illustrated by someone else I am sure I'd feel odd about it. (If someone's style fit my story I would consider it--but I'm sure I'd still prefer to do it myself...I think...)

Anyway--I think the writing occupies my mind in a certain way that allows the time to seamlessly go by. When I draw I can think too much--the wash, dishes, MORE STORIES.

I just decided I am either going to start listening to music while I draw, or maybe digital books.

Sometimes this blog is better than therapy.

xo 

My Favorite Witches

I am getting old.

Not ancient, but old enough to remember some of the most wicked witches in books and movies.

Sure I watched the pretty witches in Charmed and Sabrina for five minutes like everyone, but I am talking about the witches of almost half a century ago.

The first witch that terrified me was on the back of the Disney book Sleeping Beauty. Look at her! Those eyes. Oh and she was a sneaky one trying to pass off that apple as a delicious snack. She was nothing to mess with and it is funny to remember that I would not go into the basement for about a year because she was on the back of the book that rested on top of the bookcase at the bottom of the cellar stairs.

Another Creepella of my childhood nightmares was The Wicked Witch of The West from the Wizard of Oz. If you crossed this one she would take you down. Unless of course you had just altered the space-time continuum in ruby slippers and you were trying to find your dog. She had an over sized hourglass of doom and a huge crystal ball that filled with garnet smoke when she wanted to divine the future.

Witch Hazel from the Bugs Bunny cartoons was pretty bad ass too. She would tie you up and start heating the pot she where you would be cooked, right in front of you--until you started talking about her pet tarantula, Paul. Then she lost it and got all sappy. She also had a wicked laugh and lost her hairpins when running quickly to ask her magic mirror if she was indeed, still the ugliest witch in town.

Endora, Samantha's wicked mother from Bewtiched, would be trouble even if she had no otherwordly powers. She did not like the mortal Derwood, and never had a problem telling him how she felt. As a mother I would be doing the same if my daughter's new husband was trying to make her into something she's not. Girl Power, Endora!

My idea and drawing of a good old fashioned scary witch. Trick or treat ;)

Bellatrix from Harry Potter, Nancy from The Craft, and Minnie from Rosemary's Baby deserve a runners up nod of excellence. They were all wicked and wonderful. 

To be honest, I love almost all the witches. Hermione for being smart, Aunt Clara for being adorable, and all the other ladies that cast a spell on me when I was young, and charmed me when I was older.

Happy Halloween all! I'd love to know your favorite witch.

xo

Penelope's Garden Coloring Book~~COMING SOON!

Penelope the Witch in her garden.

Penelope the witch is visited by her friend Heather, a famous author who sells her books at The Black Hat Bookstore--and can only speak in RHYME!

After Penelope and Heather harvest the Love Heart Daisies they go and visit Wiser's Bookstore and talk to the old wizard Aleister Wiser to see if they can break the rhyming curse put upon Heather by Merlin hundreds of years before.

Will they be able to get the ingredients from the goblin who lives next door? Or will the creature that is growling in the bushes get them before they can run home to safety...

Read and color Penelope's Garden Coloring Book and join the OUT OF THIS WORLD Art by YOU Coloring Club on Facebook today. See your pictures posted and win fun prizes :) https://www.facebook.com/groups/478108415587906/?fref=ts

 

 

Not TOO Scary...

Charles and Frances are ghosts, and their house is infested with PEOPLE!  Will they be able to find a home before Officer Splot and Goblin Grime have them arrested for unauthorized scaring?  See if their friend Penelope the Witch can help them out of a jam--or will they end up in Otherworld Jail forever!