Art Therapy: 20 Notecards and Envelopes – A Review

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Art Therapy Notecards are published and were kindly sent to me for review by Michael O’Mara Books. I’ve had so many people asking me about colourable greetings cards and until now I hadn’t seen any but the search is over and these are well worth the wait! The set comes in a cardboard case which is fairly sturdy but isn’t magnetised so it does move freely (be aware of this if you’re taking them with you in a bag) and it opens out flat to reveal a sturdy cardboard slot on the left which the envelopes are slotted into and on the right the cards are in a stack with their backs face up and they’re lightly glued on the left (the open edge of the cards) with a similar binding to postcard books so that they can be carefully removed. I would suggest removing them in order rather than doing what I did and picking my favourite one which happened to be in the middle and was a struggle (but still doable) to remove. You’ll want to remove the cards before colouring because the kit is quite difficult to manhandle around when you’re colouring if it’s still attached. The kit contains 20 identical envelopes which are a natural cream colour with a small blue design in the bottom left and on the flap at the back. The cards come in 10 designs, 2 of each and they are all different colours so each one will look different even though the designs are in pairs. As with all of the Art Therapy range, these notecards each contain a splash of colour in the form of a coloured border or background. The cards are left blank and aren’t themed so they can be used for any occasion. The colourable spaces on the cards are bright white and lightly textured so they’re perfect for blending and shading with pencils, and for using water-based pens which don’t bleed or shadow and are ideal for the smallest spaces on the cards. Once removed, the cards do often have a bit of glue still attached but this is easily peeled off, with no damage to the cards. The cards are a mixture of portrait and landscape styles, with the majority being portrait and the designs are varied throughout but mostly nature-inspired from birds to butterflies, cats to bears, trees to paisleys and more. These cards would be perfect to spread the colouring love with your friends and family to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries or just to say hello, I’m thinking of you, they’re sure to brighten up the darkest of days and show people you care. They could even be sent uncoloured to try and get your friends hooked on colouring – we all need more colouring buddies!

In terms of mental health, these notecards are fabulous. You all know by now how much I love postcards and small colouring projects, and that I think colouring images of nature is the best for calming you down and settling your mood, so these notecards are perfect! Not only are they small enough to take a couple of hours to colour rather than days, they’re also amazing because you get to colour and enjoy them and then post them to a loved one to share the joy and what’s better than something hand-coloured to put a smile on someone’s face?! These cards are a great project for those of you with poor concentration because they don’t take ages to colour and you get results quickly. They are all fairly intricate and detailed with a bit of variance but some of the spaces are quite tiny so I’d advise these for people with moderate to good vision and fine motor control. The line thickness remains thin throughout but it’s not spindly so it’s not too difficult to stay within them. The images are really cohesive and I found them very calming and positive and they’re a lovely project to work on in between larger, more complicated pages in books. The sections of pre-added colour aren’t intrusive and are mostly not on the designs themselves so you’re free to choose whatever colours you like but you could also choose a complimentary colour scheme that matches it, or even just use shades of that colour for a beautiful monochrome look.

I would highly recommend these notecards for any colourers with moderate to good vision and fine motor control and people with any level of concentration. These are a bargain with an RRP of £9.99 that makes them just 50p a card and think of the hours of fun you can have colouring them and sending them off to friends and family. The designs are lovely, the added colour is great for inspiring colour schemes and just making them less daunting to start and I hope this is the first in a long line of colourable cards! Michael O’Mara have published a second set of notecards which you will find reviewed by me here.

If you’d like to purchase a set they’re available below:
Amazon UK – Art Therapy Notecards
Book Depository Worldwide – https://www.bookdepository.com/Art-Therapy-Notecards/9781782435297/?a_aid=colouringitmom

My reviews of other items in the Art Therapy range can be found below:
Art Therapy Colouring Book
Art Therapy Postcards
Art Therapy Coloring Kit

The image below was coloured using Stabilo Point 88 Fineliners.