[Creative DIY]Make a Custom Doodle Book with Just a Pen

Although André picks up a stack of blank paper every day and often draws from morning till night, I still really hoped to find a great doodle book to stimulate his creativity. Most of the ones available in stores, however, are coloring books — which are no longer quite suitable for André’s age — so I continued my search for a drawing book that would be just right for him.

One day, I suddenly discovered that some American artists draw the outlines of characters for kids first, then let the children use their imagination to fill them in. That’s really quite fun. Of course, those artists also publish doodle books, but just a few sheets of paper can cost over ten US dollars. I thought… I may not be an artist, but sketching out some simple outlines shouldn’t be too hard for me. (If moms really can’t draw, I suggest searching Google Images using keywords — you’ll find lots of similar outline images you can refer to or download.)
Moms, trust me, it’s really not hard — just a few lines. First, draw the outline of a cake for your child and have them design the cake they’d like on it. You can even write English words on it to help them practice vocabulary. Even better, combine several drawings into a booklet to create a personalized English word handbook.
Great — one sheet per kid. While they’re busy drawing, us moms can sneak in a little break. Shh… they’re using their little imaginations to create the cakes they want.
Although Mumu is still too young to draw, she watches her brother and clearly knows the colors should go inside the cake. She uses all kinds of colors and you can tell she’s trying her best.
Here are their masterpieces. Doesn’t André’s cake look colorful and fancy? I love his candles.
The next day we drew ice cream cones and had them draw ice cream on top. I also referred to images on Google and drew simpler outlines for the ice cream cones.
For younger children, you can draw more detailed outlines so they can just color inside. I held Mumu’s hand to draw the outline of a popsicle together, and wrote the word — she found it really fun.
Mumu isn’t very good at drawing, so I asked her, “What do you want to draw on it?” She said, “Strawberries!” So I drew strawberries for her.
Drawing clothing outlines is also a fantastic exercise to spark a child’s creativity.
André loves it when I draw clothing outlines for him — it makes him feel like a designer creating clothes he’d like to wear. Plus, through these drawings, you can understand more about what’s going on in your child’s inner world.
Turns out André has always wanted a piece of clothing like Olaf’s from Frozen. He drew it so carefully, not forgetting to include even the parasol and sand toys.
Can you think of any other outlines to draw? Shoes, socks, gloves, hats, glasses, houses… basically anything related to design can be drawn. You could even draw a human figure and have your child place the clothes, skirts, or dresses they’ve designed on it — becoming a little designer.
For example, this is a little girl figure I drew. Then take another sheet of white paper and draw clothes, skirts, pants, shoes, etc., within the outline of the figure. Cut them out, and you’ve got a custom paper doll. Moms can draw more clothing outlines — clothes, skirts, pants, shoes — and have the child color and design the outfits they like, then cut them out and personally dress the little girl.
Mumu really likes the little girl figure mom made for her. When she’s a bit older, we can design lots of clothes for her. André said he wants to draw the figure himself. The careful drawer even remembered to draw underwear for the figure. Then he followed my steps and designed clothes for it.
André really loves this creative game — he says he wants to design even cooler clothes. Many moms might think this is a waste of time, figuring it’s easier to just buy a doodle book or paper dolls. But when you spend a focused few minutes guiding your child through these crafts, they get really into it, enjoying these small creations nonstop. Every detail comes from their own hands, helping them make better use of their creativity. The sense of achievement is unlike anything you get from store-bought products. Most importantly, moms can enjoy a peaceful and fun bonding experience.

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