Not only is this project super easy and a money-saver, it will also make your kids happy!

I can’t remember the last time I bought a coloring book. My daughter & I learned how to make our own coloring sheets from family pictures, and she hasn’t wanted to color anything else since!

Grandparents love getting these sheets in the mail.  And giving a friend a picture of herself to color makes a great thank you for a play date.

Here’s what you do:

• Start with a picture with high contrast and not much detail, like this:

• Open the picture in Photoshop Elements and desaturate it to remove the color.  The shortcut for desaturating is Control Shift U.
• Try either of these filters:  Filter Menu/Stylize/Find Edges OR Filter Menu/Brush Strokes/Ink Outlines.  Use them alone, in combination, or use one more than once until you get the best result.
• Add a Levels Adjustment Layer by clicking on the half-black half-white circle near the top of the layers palette.
• Move the right (white) input levels slider to the left to reduce noise on areas that should be white.  Move the left (black) input levels slider to the right to darken lines.

• If needed, add a Brightness/Contrast Adjustment Layer and increase the contrast.

The method is not exact and varies for each picture.  Play with the filters and adjustments until the picture is recognizable and colorable.

For this picture, I used the Find Edges filter once and added a Levels Adjustment Layer.

That’s all it took!  Enjoy!

Erin is a bookish SAHM, former Latin teacher and occasional CPA. She is Episcopalian, a yellow-dog democrat and an addict of British royal history. She is trying to add photography to her repertoire due to a moral obligation to document for posterity the extreme cuteness of her husband and two daughters. Her blog, Digital Photography for Moms, offers tips and short cuts to help other Moms create great pictures of their kids.