Twelve summer-on-the-lawn subjects — crossed flags, a stars-and-stripes bunting, an ice cream cone, a slice of apple pie, blue hydrangeas — pre-outlined and waiting for paint. It is a colouring book for grown-ups and children alike, except you finish with watercolour instead of crayon, and the result is good enough to tear out and frame.

Every spread pairs a finished painting with numbered step-by-step instructions and a lightly printed sketch you paint straight onto, so you are never staring at a blank page. Printed on custom 120 lb cold-press watercolour paper from one of the last remaining paper mills in the United States, with lay-flat spiral binding and clean tear-out pages, at a travel-ready 6.5 x 9 in. Original artwork by Emily Lex, designed and printed in the USA. It lands squarely on America's 250th anniversary year, which makes it the summer gift that needs no explanation: a hostess present for the Fourth, a porch activity for visiting grandchildren, a quiet hour for yourself. Paint sold separately.