Hourglass Coloring Pages

Free hourglass coloring pages: 23 printable PDF designs featuring classic sand timers, decorative styles, and time-themed art. Each page can be downloaded as a PDF to print or colored online in the browser.

No single inventor of the hourglass has ever been confirmed, and an old story crediting an 8th-century monk has no supporting evidence. The earliest confirmed record is a fresco painted in Siena, Italy, in 1338 to 1339, which shows the figure of Temperance holding one. Hourglasses became especially important on ships starting in the 14th century, since the flow of sand, unlike a water clock, was not thrown off by the rocking motion of the waves. Sailors used them to track elapsed time and estimate speed at sea, and Ferdinand Magellan’s ship reportedly carried eighteen of them on its voyage around the globe. This collection reflects that long history, mixing classic hourglass designs with more decorative and fantastical versions.

The set covers 23 pages in total, from simple hourglass outlines suited to early colorers to detailed decorative and scene-based designs for older kids and adults.

What Is Inside This Collection

The 23 pages group into a few recurring styles, from classic hourglass shapes to more decorative and fantastical designs.

Classic Hourglass Designs

Beautiful Hourglass, Black And White Hourglass, Detailed Hourglass, Old Hourglass, and Time Hourglass focus on the traditional hourglass shape with varying levels of detail.

Decorative and Patterned Hourglasses

Hourglass Art, Hourglass Vector, Monochrome Doodle Hourglass with Flowers and Butterfly, and Ancient Hourglass and Leaves surround the hourglass shape with decorative linework and botanical details.

Scene and Fantasy Hourglasses

Hourglass with Galaxy, Hourglass with Heart on Cloud, Hourglass with Sun, Moon and Flowers on the Lawn, Hourglass on the Beach, and Abstract Hourglass with Mystic Stars, Night, Sky. Place the hourglass inside a larger scene or fantasy setting.

Character and Cute-Style Hourglasses

A Cartoon Image of an Hourglass with a Blue Eye, Cats and Big Hourglass Cartoon, Hourglass Chibiified Cute, and Happy Kids with an Hourglass use simplified, friendly designs suited to younger colorers.

What Hourglass Coloring Pages Do

Fine motor development. The American Academy of Pediatrics identifies fine motor skill development as a core benefit of structured coloring for children ages 2 through 7. The narrow neck and curved glass shape of an hourglass give kids practice with careful, controlled strokes.

Introduces the concept of measured time. Talking about how an hourglass measures a fixed span of time, rather than showing the current time like a clock, gives kids a simple way to understand that time can be tracked in more than one way.

Anxiety reduction through focus. A 2005 study in the Art Therapy Journal documented measurable reductions in anxiety following structured coloring sessions. The decorative and mystic-style pages in this set work especially well for a longer, focused coloring session.

Builds shading and gradient practice. The falling sand inside an hourglass gives kids a natural reason to practice shading a gradual buildup of color from top to bottom, a technique that carries over to other coloring subjects.

How to Color Hourglass Pages Well

• Glass bulbs: Use a light Sky Blue or pale Gray with small White highlight marks to suggest the reflective curve of glass.
• Sand: Color the sand Gold, Tan, or Amber, adding a slightly darker shade near the narrow neck where the grains are falling.
• Frame or stand: Use Brown for a wooden frame or Gold and Silver for a more ornate metal stand, keeping the color consistent on both the top and bottom supports.
• Decorative linework: Keep doodle-style borders and patterns in a single accent color so they frame the hourglass without competing with it.
• Galaxy and night-sky scenes: Blend deep Blue and Purple for the background, then add small White or Yellow dots for stars.
• Beach and outdoor scenes: Use Sandy Yellow and Sky Blue for the setting, keeping the hourglass itself in warmer tones so it stands out against the cooler background.

5 Creative Craft Ideas With Hourglass Coloring Pages

1. Paper Lantern. Color a page, cut it out, roll it into a cylinder, and secure the edges with tape to make a simple paper lantern.

2. 3D Hourglass Model. Color a page, cut it out, and glue it onto stiff cardboard to build a standing hourglass model for a desk or shelf.

3. Bookshelf Decoration. Color a few small pages and stick them along the inside edge of a bookshelf or on the back of the shelf doors for a personalized touch.

4. Key Hook. Color a page, glue it to stiff paper, cut it into a small uniform shape, and punch a hole at the top to hang on a hook or keychain.

5. Bookmark. Color a small hourglass image, cut it into a bookmark shape, and glue it to a strip of cardstock for a sturdy finish.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are hourglass coloring pages?

Hourglass coloring pages are free printable or online designs showing classic sand timers, decorative styles, and time-themed art. This collection has 23 pages, available as PDF downloads or in the browser-based coloring tool.

Who invented the hourglass?

No single inventor has ever been confirmed. An old story crediting an 8th-century monk has no supporting evidence, and the earliest confirmed record is a fresco painted in Siena, Italy, in 1338 to 1339, showing the figure of Temperance holding one.

Why were hourglasses especially useful on ships?

Unlike a water clock, an hourglass’s sand flow was not affected by the rocking motion of waves, which made it reliable for tracking elapsed time and estimating speed at sea starting in the 14th century.

What kinds of hourglass designs are included in the collection?

The set covers classic hourglass shapes, decorative doodle and botanical styles, fantasy scenes with galaxies or night skies, and a few cartoon and character-style pages.

Are there any character-themed pages in the collection?

One page, Umbreon and Espeon Hourglass, references two well-known illustrated characters alongside the collection’s more traditional and decorative hourglass designs.

How can hourglass pages help kids understand time?

An hourglass measures a fixed span of time rather than showing the current time like a clock, giving kids a simple, visual way to talk about the difference between “what time is it” and “how much time is left.”

Are hourglass coloring pages suitable for young children?

Yes. The cartoon and cute-style pages use simple, rounded shapes suited to preschool and early elementary colorers, while the decorative and fantasy scenes offer more detail for older kids and adults. None of the designs includes content that would concern parents.

How many hourglasses did historic sailing ships typically carry?

The number varied by ship, but Ferdinand Magellan’s vessel reportedly carried eighteen hourglasses for its voyage around the globe, reflecting how central the device was to navigation before mechanical clocks became reliable at sea.

Start Coloring

Download any page by clicking the design. No account, email, or payment is required. Pages print directly from the browser at full resolution or open in the online coloring tool for screen use. Share finished pages on Facebook or Pinterest with the share buttons at the top of each design page.