I Made a Coloring Book!!!!

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My first year in Portugal has been not only a great adventure but also a year of self discovery. I gave up my job and had the freedom to figure out what I wanted to do next with my life. I never had any intention of working in the casino for all those years, but I got stuck. It’s an easy place to get stuck in and next thing you know, life has passed you by. I knew I wanted to do something with more freedom and to use my creativity. I wanted to do something that would make me happy. So I started this blog but I knew I wanted to do more.

One of the most alluring and most recognizable things in Portugal are the Azulejos, or tiles. They are gorgeous and they adorn so many buildings. And they aren’t just for show. They are useful for insulation and for protecting the buildings. But above all, they are simply beautiful and they are a big part of Portuguese culture.

I did a lot of research about them as I was creating the book and I learned so much. The tiles were originally introduced to Portugal by the Moors but years later King Manuel I made them popular in 1503. He was in awe with their beauty so he decorated his palace with them. This is the National Palace in Sintra. It was important to me to do research and learn about them and their history. I wrote a little more about their history in my book. As we were doing our visa process, I learned that I have Portuguese blood so I have been trying to learn as much as I can about the history and culture so I can connect more to my new home.

So Why a Coloring Book?

I love to color!!! I have a bunch of coloring books that I brought with me. I love to just sit and zone out and get lost in the patterns. I know so many other people enjoy it too. One day while we were out for a walk, Karl told me I should make a coloring book with the tiles. It was like a lightbulb moment! I instantly decided that was going to be my next project.

The Process

I decided I wanted to make a series of coloring books. Each one focused on a different part or city of Portugal. Each place has their own style of tiles and I want to showcase all of them. Naturally I wanted Tavira to be the first book in the series since this is my home.

I actually really thought it would be a lot easier than it was. Boy was I wrong. During my daily walks around town I would take pictures of all my favorite tiles. I then edited each and every picture to try and make it as perfect as possible. Sometimes the lighting would be off or the alignment would be, so I would have to go find them and retake them. After all that was done, Karl created a code to transform each one into a coloring book page. It took him multiple attempts to get codes that would work well. After many tries and going through each picture for the best one, I had finally gotten them all. I put the book together and got it published! And it is now available for sale!!!!!

Link for Amazon US

Link for Amazon Spain

It is available in all markets, one of those links will lead you to the right one for your country.

Thank you to my amazing husband Karl for helping me with this, I would have never had the idea or been able to create it without his help. And thank you to my great friends Julie and Tracy for both of your help and never-ending support. Love you all!

I have truly enjoyed this experience through all the stress and difficulties of it. I put so much love in to this book, I really hope you enjoy it. Keep an eye out for the next book in the series, can you guess which city it will be of? 💙