Adult colouring books have become a very popular pastime. But you can easily end up with more coloured pages than you know what to do with. Why not turn your hobby into a little income stream! If you’re not sure about selling your colouring pages, try out a few of these ideas and give them as gifts to your friends and family.
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Is it Legal to Sell Colouring Book Pages I have Coloured?
I’m not a lawyer, so I can’t give definitive legal advice. But David Lizerbram of Lizerbram Law is. He states that “the black and white line drawings in a coloring book are works of visual art and are covered by copyright law.” But once you have purchased the colouring book, you have the right to do pretty much whatever you want to it. You can give it away, you can resell the book, you can colour in it and tear out the pages. What you cannot do, is make copies of the pages, either before or after colouring them in.
You can sell the individual, colored pages, if your coloring skills are strong enough to create a market value for the finished product.
Lizerbram Law, Copyright Law and Adult Coloring Books
If you want to play it safe, use colouring pages that are in the public domain, or create your own colouring pages. Or use PhotoShop or another great photo to colouring page app to change your photographs into colouring pages. If you are printing colouring pages, be sure to use a high quality printer paper to get great results.
One advantage to using your own colouring pages, is that you hold the copyright. So you can colour it once, scan it, and print it many times.
Amazon’s Best Selling Coloring Books
See Amazon’s wide collection of adult colouring books to suit every taste and season!
Money Making Ideas for Coloring Book Pages
Each colouring page you colour is a unique work of art. While others will have the same outline, only yours is coloured in your unique style.
Here are a few great ideas to turn them into art you can sell:
- Wall art – the easiest way to display your finished colouring pages is on the wall. Use spray adhesive to glue it to a sheet of chipboard so that it’s rigid. Garden Therapy blog recommends using a board slightly smaller than the colouring page, then using a craft knife to trim the excess.
- Greeting cards – insert your colouring pages into paper picture frame cards, for a unique set of Christmas, birthday or other themed cards.
- Gift bags – create one-of-a-kind gift bags by using your coloured pages instead of scrapbook paper, and following the instructions in this tutorial.
- T-shirts – use Mod Podge photo transfer medium or iron-on transfer paper to transfer your colouring page onto fabric.
- Reusable cloth bags – like the t-shirts, use Mod Podge photo transfer medium or iron-on transfer paper to create a one-of-a-kind environmentally friendly cloth bag.
- Dry-erase board – pick up a discount picture frame with glass, and slide your coloured page behind the glass. Use whiteboard markers and eraser. This would be a fantastic project with a “To Do”, “Shopping List”, “Menu” or “Calendar” template! Check out the easy tutorial.
- Journal – glue or Mod Podge your colouring page onto the cover of a plain journal.
- Jewellery or keychain – scan your finished colouring page, lighten it and resize it to about 3-4″ wide. Print it on Shrinky Dink plastic sheets using your home printer. Follow the Shrinky Dink instructions to cut around the picture and punch a hole in the top for the fastener, then bake. Here’s a handy tutorial.
- Stickers – scan and print your finished colouring pages on sticker paper using your home printer. Go all in on stickers with a Cricut!
- Coaster set – pick up a set of unglazed ceramic coasters for crafting, then adhere and protect your colouring page with Mod Podge.
- Cell phone case – pick up a clear cell phone case, create a template for your colouring page, then cut out and insert.
Where to Sell your Finished Coloring Pages
Once you have coloured in your designs, and made them into crafts – where can you sell them?
- Start a blog to showcase and sell your designs
- Etsy is a great option to sell unique craft items
- Amazon Handmade
- Instagram – feature your designs on your Instagram and tell people how to contact you
- Shopify
- Craft sales
- Yard sale
- And more!
Have you got more ideas to turn your finished colouring pages into gifts, or a source of income? Add them to the comments!
OMG… I think I am on to something. I have folders upon folders of finished coloring pages. I am a recovering alcoholic and addict, and that is all I have done since I started my journey in recovery. In groups, in my rehab, in jail, doctor’s office, etc. Anywhere I could color I would. It was my therapy; it took me out of my head and was in a different world. You gave me the niche I was looking for and it has been sitting right in front of my face the whole time.
See, when I decided to get sober after being addicted for 30 plus years. I had no idea of the talent that I have, nor all the health problems either. I am a single mom and raised 2 kids barely, my addiction took over and I went to a dark place. But I always worked to provide for them. But that has been in the past now for 4 yrs. Because of the jobs I have worked at and my addiction to self-medicating, it took a toll on me. Now I have been sober, and unemployed due to my physical problems. I have not only used my talents by coloring, I also sew. You want it, I can design it and make it. I feel I am unique in my abilities to make exactly what people want for their needs. I have been struggling to find a way to sell what I have made, but have no idea where to start. I made and gave some stuff as gifts and family and friends told me to go rent a booth and sell. I just needed to see this to get my wheels flowing… THANK YOU THANK YOU! Keep WATCH for that name POPENFUSS, you will be seeing this name…. TO BE CONTINUED