DIY Kid Doodle Coloring Book

This makes a great Christmas gift!

The holiday season is upon us, so I have been getting everyone’s gifts in order. I absolutely love giving gifts, and the more sentimental and well-thought-out they are, the better. I wanted something extra special for my mom, as she has been one of the most supportive people besides my husband. First, I thought about what she loves–my kids, things that are handmade, art, things that are relaxing…

I thought about things I could purchase versus things I could make. I’m all about handmade, so I decided to go that route. Hmm…something handmade that involves the kids, art, and relaxing. All the current hype about coloring books for adults gave me an idea. I would make her her very own custom kid doodle coloring book! It would feature drawings by both of my boys so it would have sentimental value. I ended up adding drawings every few pages as well so she would have more intricate drawings to color in.

Every day I would set aside a little bit of time for each child to do one or two sets of doodles. We went back and forth between the pages and the boys would each have a set of two pages.

My boys both loved working on this, so it really wasn’t a hassle to get them to participate daily.

Each time it was their turn to draw, I’d give them two permanent markers–a regular fine tip one and a pen one. They chose which they wanted, sometimes both, and I watched them to make sure they only drew on the paper and not the floor, table, or themselves.

What You Need

• Mixed-media art journal 
• Fine tip and ultra fine tip permanent markers
• Dedication page (free printable)
• Paper cutter/scrapbooking trimmer
• Rubber cement
• Colored art pencils or watercolor pencils

As I mentioned above, I did decide to fill in some of the pages with drawings that I did. I drew on the first page (and colored it in so you can see how it all works), every 4 sets of pages or so, and the last page was a collaborative drawing that had doodling from both my boys and I filled in some extra details.

On the first page I glued down the printable dedication page to explain what the whole book was about.

Every page throughout the doodle coloring book has the initials of the artist so my mom knows whose picture is whose.

I loved watching as all the pages filled up with doodles just waiting to be colored in. I want to color them in. You will probably feel the same when you create your book, so scan copies of the pages onto your computer.

I also love the keepsake value of this doodle coloring book because it allowed the kids to express themselves and show what stage they were at during this. Oh, and I almost forgot when I set it up to include the year–you don’t want to forget that so be sure to write it down on the dedication page!

You can see how my preschooler’s drawings are a little more intricate perhaps–more fluid with the circles (although he really just likes drawing race car tracks which are a bunch of swirly circles.)

Then you see how the drawings by my toddler are a little choppier and more abstract. He really liked seeing how he could make little lines then long lines then little tiny dots. Some of his drawings had a ton going on while others were just a few lines and dots.

Of course, mine are…just mine…I like art. You can make the drawings as simple or complex as you’d like. I did simpler drawings to start then filled them all in with patterns like polka dots and stripes to make them seem more intricate and allow for more to color and customize.

Once the doodle coloring book was complete, I set the box of watercolor pencils on top and attached it with a bow. You can use a ribbon, but I used the gold tinsel cord. This would be a fun advent project–doodle a couple pages each day until Christmas then hand the completed coloring book to a loved one!

I figured my mom would end up seeing this blog post, so I decided to already give her her gift while she was here visiting. She loved it!

Know someone who could use this? Hit the “share” buttons below! Be sure to follow Arts & Crackers on social media (buttons at the top right of the page.)

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Who will you doodle for? Do you love handmade gifts? Share with me in the comments below.

If you decide to do this project, I would love for you to share on my Facebook page or email me at [email protected]!