DAGDRÖMMAR by Hanna Karlzon

Number of Pages: 96 
Size: 25 x 21cm
Paper colour: Cream 
Paper surface: Smooth 
Paper thickness: Good 
Linework: Medium​ 
Perforated: No 
One sided: No 
Binding: Saddle stitch
Drawings go into the spine: Yes ​
Waterbased pen bleed: None

I've seen this book all over the colouring groups lately, but it's been sold out practically everywhere for a while now so I've not been able to get hold of a copy. More are being printed as I type (check bottom of review for where you can buy it now). You can imagine my delight when a copy landed on my mat direct from the publishers in Scandanavia! I'm so glad I can show you this as it truly is a stunningly beautiful book- an instant favourite. Hanna Karlzon has a degree in Art and is living the dream working as a freelance artist and designer in her native Sweden.

All the designs in her debut book are hand drawn with pen and ink, and are just incredibly beautiful. There's a mixture of themes ranging from florals to nautical, but mostly she prefers animals and nature with a bit of a 70's kick. There are lots of lavishly decorated birds, insects and sea life, grand castles and roiling oceans. With loads of intricacy to get your teeth into and some really unique art, this book is one of a kind. Take a look through this bumper slideshow!

The gold lettering and accents on the cover would give a professional finish to the book on their own, but the fact that it's a hardback (a rare find in colouring books) gives it that extra special feel. The paper is thick and super smooth with a rustic cream tinge, and the linework falls into a medium thickness which is easy to stay within but doesn't dominate the page. My only beef is- as usual- that it's double sided. I had to sacrifice the back of the spread I was colouring because I couldn't NOT use alcohol markers to bring vibrant colour to these amazing illustrations, and it always feels like such a shame to ruin amazing art. Despite this, Dagdrömmar is now a firm favourite on my shelf and definitely won't be gathering dust!

Here's my finished double-page spread, which I completed with lots of mixed media. I used Promarkers, Spectrum Noir markers, Tombows, Staedtler Triplus, and Moonlight Gelly Rolls to get the best out of the image. I coloured the bird completely in black as a silhouette, then used the Gelly's to pick out the detail which I am really pleased with. Ooh- and I used a gold glitter gel for the key :)

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. You can buy a copy here. It's sold out on Amazon at the moment, but once it has been reprinted you can purchase it here:

Dagdrömmar