Crayons are...tres chic?

photo: amazon.com

Apparently elaborately designed coloring books, or shall I say "colouring-in books" as  Europeans do, have become all the rage in France.  A few articles appeared over the summer in London's daily paper
The Telegraph in their Woman/Work section (here is one)  telling the whole story, which basically boils down to this: art therapy.

I guess being French  is very, very stressful.

All kidding aside, anything that helps someone de-stress is good to me, whether its coloring, yoga, a long walk, or listening to classical music.

And it goes waaaay beyond your basic Crayolas. Seems that colored pencils and felt-tip pens, as well as the coloring books themselves, have vanished off shelves in shops across France. And online.   Huh.

Other books on Amazon are available but many, like the one pictured above, are sold out.  But you can find a zillion pages on Pinterest or other websites and print them out yourselves. Or just type in "coloring pages for adults" into a Google search and you'll have your pick of lots of different sytles. (Note: I previewed this, as using the word "adult" on Google can turn up some nauseating things.  You're good. )

So I'll give a try and report back.  I think the one in the photo above is gorgeous.  Maybe I'll color one and frame it next to my kids' art projects.