“Fun and interesting” are two key words Alexis Stewart kept in mind when she decided to create coloring books for her daughter, Graceyn. The convenience of using digital tools on her cellphone gave her easy access and unlimited resources for making engaging coloring books she knew Graceyn would enjoy. Alexis never considered a hobby she started, would grow into her becoming a published author.
“I have created two coloring books so far. The first one called “The Spooktacular Season Is Here” is a Halloween kids coloring book with all the lovely things that remind us of fall! The second book I created is called “The Animals On The Farm” and it’s a coloring book full of adorable farm animals,” said Alexis who shared how her coloring books are unique. “I’d say what makes my coloring books special would be that they were created with the little ones in mind. The pages are fun, simple and easy for the kiddos to color along with encouraging them to use their imagination.”
Alexis’ venture was inspired by her daughter, who has always enjoyed coloring.
“As a mother, when looking into purchasing activity books or coloring books, I catch myself looking for things like simplicity, and things that my daughter will have an interest in learning about,“ said Alexis.
Being a parent has strongly influenced the books Alexis creates. As Alexis works on new projects, she is constantly asking herself, “Would my daughter think this is cool?” or “Would she like completing this activity?”
“I’m constantly thinking of ways to make it fun and interesting because we all know that it can be a task to keep a little’s attention for long,” said Alexis. “: I’ll be honest. The books I have made so far came from me just having a vision and thinking about what the kids may like to see. I didn’t go by anyone else’s books or ideas because I wanted to have fun and take on the challenge thinking about what I could do to make it fun. I got my images from an app called Canva and if you know how to use it, it’s awesome for creating digital products like the coloring books. Canva allows you to fully customize anything you may want to use.”
After talking with a friend who does online digital marketing, Alexis became curious about the possibility of publishing her books for other children. She learned about the process and decided to take a leap of faith and just try it! Now that she has published two books, which are available on Amazon, Alexis is proud of her accomplishment and looking to create more.
“I work full time as a nurse, so I usually work on my digital activities at bedtime. I’m easily motivated when it comes to my daughter, so I figured it would be cool if I could prove to myself that I could do this aside of working fulltime and being a present parent,” said Alexis. “The coloring books are very age appropriate and a fun way to spark the kid’s creativity that gets them away from screen time!”
Alexis did share she had some unexpected challenges with the publishing process through Amazon.
“I didn’t expect publishing a coloring book would be so difficult because it seems so easy to make. There were a lot of rules and regulations I had to follow when publishing through Amazon,“ said Alexis, who was not deterred by the experience. “I’d say the most rewarding part of publishing is seeing the kids enjoy the book I worked really hard on. Seeing how excited they are and them having so much fun. It makes it all worth it!”
Alexis is already brainstorming on ideas for future children’s books/activity books. She would love to make customizable coloring books that would include the kids’ name and some things they love.
“I hope the children who get to color the books use their imagination and have so much fun because at the end of the day, that is what matters,” said Alexis, who shared the heart of what she does. “I’m just a mom who is trying to come up with some cute coloring books for our kids to enjoy! I appreciate everyone who has loved the idea of me doing this.”
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