10 Things: My 10 Favorite Materials to Color With

I love coloring. I must have over 50 "grown up" coloring books, and probably that many kids' coloring books. Coloring is a major stress relief for me, and I wish I had more time to do it, as I'm happiest when I'm being artistic and/or creating things. 

I am putting these in no particular order, as I like to use different instruments for different things. 

I discovered these Bic Marking Fashion Permanent Markers on accident. I was looking for a Sharpie-like marker to use with our preschool Bible study, but could only find these. I thought they were more like a Sharpie, but they have a very fine tip and are a great coloring instrument. 

Surprisingly, I've had wonderful success coloring with plain old Paper Mate colored ball-point pens. They are smooth and are good for small spaces. I wish there was a yellow though. 

These Prismacolor soft-core colored pencils are pretty much the gold standard of colored pencils, and probably the gold standard of "grown-up" coloring. 

I originally bought a pack of the Crayola Pip Squeak Markers for my mother-in-law for her coloring and bullet-journal. She told me I needed to get a pack for myself, so I did, and really, they're a lot of fun to color with. They're fun colors and I like that they're small so I can take them everywhere. 

My newest coloring-related obsession is felt-tip pens. Actually, the Amazon Basics brand is as good as, or even better than, other brands like Papermate (although I have a box of those as well!). I just love how they feel and how easy they are to color with. 

Ah, yes, gel pens. These USED to be my absolute favorite instrument to color with, but I kept getting frustrated with how quickly the ink would run out. It appears that some manufacturers have addressed this and started putting more ink in the pens. 

Sometimes, you just need to color with some Crayola crayons. They're the best for a reason. Just don't forget your crayon sharpener! 

I haven't completely figured out all of the technique of the Brush Pens. I know they're good for calligraphy and journaling, but they're also fun to color with assuming the spaces aren't teeny tiny. As a bonus, they're REALLY fun to draw with. 

Sharpie permanent markers aren't just good for writing on masking tape or labels. The bright colors are GREAT for coloring with, but make sure your pages are either thicker or you have something underneath that you don't mind getting bleed-through on. 

Oh, it was always the BEST day in art class when we could get out the Oil Pastels. They're better for drawing with, but they're also fun to color with, especially mandala type pictures. 

Well, that's my list of ten, but I also have a BONUS pick since these really can't be used to color paper. 

I absolutely LOVE using oil paint pens to color rocks, glass, wood, etc. They're the easiest way to decorate Froot Loop's model house furniture. Basically, they're just a lot of fun. 

Have you jumped on the "grown-up" coloring train yet?