She's Crafty | Bookmarks

Coming soon to the Chavez Central library slat wall is a book display featuring recommendations by city staff. I'm designing a bookmark that will go into the books on display for two reasons: One, to let people know that, yes! you can check this book out; and two, to give some extra information regarding who recommended the book.

While I was online looking for inspiration to design a basic template, I came across a blog devoted to the art of bookmarks called Mirage Bookmark. If you collect bookmarks or appreciate a well-designed bookmark, you have to check out this blog!

On the Mirage blog I found an especially fun post featuring an ALA bookmark of Barabra Gordon, a superhero librarian in the city of Gotham during the day and the crime-fighting superhero known as Batgirl by night.

Too bad they don't sell these anymore, I would probably buy a stack...or two.

All this bookmark talk got me thinking about all the bookmarks I've collected, made, or received as gifts in the past. I have a pile that goes back a few years tucked away in a basket in my bedside reading table. Bookmarks come in all shapes and sizes and I'm a sucker for anything that keeps my place in a good book with style and innovation, so I have markers that range from small magnetic tabs with cartoon zombies on them and arrow shaped clips that will point to any place on the page for those of us who are always stopping mid-page (me, I am one of those people), to large pieces of photography paper trimmings from a college class and a few of the store-bought and tasseled variety. 

However, nothing beats a good ol' handmade bookmark. Every once in awhile I like to buy a package of pre-cut, ready to decorate bookmarks from the craft store and go to town. They make great, quick gifts too--especially for the bookmark lover. Print out a favorite quote and fill it up with doodles or fill the surface of a bookmark with pictures of ridiculously cute kitten faces that will make you smile every time you pick up your book.

We have the following books about bookmarks. You'll see I padded my list with fictional books since we only have one book specifically about bookmarks. Also, I thought it was cute we had fiction books with references to bookmarks.

Collecting Bookmarkers by A.W. Coysh

Bookmarks Are People Too! by Henry Winkler

Bookmarked to Die by Jo Dereske

Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett

Great advice from
Collecting Bookmarkers

Another tip if you want to find books on crafting your very own bookmarks is to look at the table of contents of most papercrafting books--you'll most likely find at least one project involving a bookmark there.

Link+ Books

Carving Caricature Bookmarks by Chris Morgan

The Art of Illumination by Patricia Carter

Of course the bookmark I end up using most often is my due-date receipt from the library.

The best free bookmark EVER!

Malia & Kaye

Ms. Suzy Reads | Strega Nona

I've always been drawn to the Strega Nona stories by Tomie De Paola. But here's how I stumbled upon it today. The weather is changing; it's getting cooler. Cool weather always makes me crave comfort food. My all-time favorite comfort food is pasta. And there you have it!

Tomie De Paola's Strega Nona: An Old Tale is a delightful story to remind young children of the importance of obedience. Strega Nona hires Big Anthony to look after her house and garden, and warns him not to touch her very old pasta pot. Not long after, Big Anthony spies Strega Nona in the kitchen singing to her pasta pot. All of the sudden, the pot bubbled, boiled and was suddenly filled with steaming hot pasta!

Of course Big Anthony wanted the pasta pot to make him some steaming hot pasta, so as soon as Strega Nona left for a while, he sang the same song with almost the same results. You have to read the book to find out what happens!

Tomie De Paola is one of the most popular children's author/illustrators ever. In this book, which received the Caldecott Honor in 1975, De Paola engages the young reader with humor and beautiful illustrations. This is a perfect read-aloud for the whole family or for young independent readers to read on their own. SSJCPL owns lots of books by Tomie De Paola; stop by the library nearest you and check them out!

And to extend the enjoyment of Strega Nona, have a family pasta night! Grab your favorite recipe and get the whole family cooking in the kitchen! Buon Appetito!

 

 

Just Life! What a Halloween

I had a very interesting Halloween. Who knew that a few tiny slices of pineapple can create so much chaos.

Ari and Vida in front of a haunted house.

Let me explain:

We just got back from trick-or-treating with our friends Zari and Vida. I put two pizzas in the oven and in the process, a few pineapples rolled from one of the pizzas to the bottom of the oven.

I tried to get them out but, two pineapples were at the very end of the oven so, I ignored them. That was a big mistake.

A few minutes later, grey smoke started oozing out of the oven. Then our smoke detectors started going off. I tried to fan the smoke detectors to no avail.

Then, I ran upstairs assuring my half asleep husband (who was trying to take a few hours of sleep before his midnight shift) that everything was alright. I explained that the house was not really on fire, but my kitchen was being swallowed by smoke. That is all. 

Then, I ran downstairs trying to fan the stupid smoke detectors again with no success. Meanwhile, my friends and my aunt opened all the doors and windows trying to help me out.

My daughter Ari and her friend Sadie were both trying to help me out too by fanning the smoke detectors with Sadie's foam Minecraft sword.

Nothing worked. The alarms were still screeching.

Then...wait for it...wait for it.

Yup, you guessed it...

The Fire department showed up at my door. I had to explain to these fire fighters who were all geared up for action that it was a false alarm. That was so embarrassing.

What a night. I tell you.

Apparently our Alarm company called the Fire department after being unable to reach us.

But, I am so thankful to our alarm company and to the Stockton Fire Department. 

The Fire truck was in front of our house in a matter of minutes. Thank you for such a fast response. I am very grateful.

If you need some excitement in your life, just come to your local library to check out some heart pumping Mysteries.

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

She's Crafty | Trick or Treat? Here's Something Neat!

The other day I stumbled across a series of tutorials on YouTube that completely blew my mind O.O

And if you can believe, they all involved craft foam!

Craft foam: Colorful and Squishy

Craft.

Foam.

I never thought in my whole life I would ever be as excited as I am at this moment to work with craft foam. Sure it's colorful and squishy, two modes of being which I completely adore, but I haven't found much of a use for the stuff within the areas of which I'm usually crafting. Until now.

I can see it now, craft foam will completely revolutionize the way I make costume accessories. And it came to my attention just in time for the number one costuming event of the year, Halloween.

Steampunk Goggles

This story of craft foam goodness truly begins with a pair of steampunk goggles I purchased at a Halloween store. When I put them on over my short, spiky hair and looked in the mirror I immediately thought of a comic book/movie character that was popular when I was in high school known as, Tank Girl.

True story.

The next thought that came up: How can I merge these two items?

Tank Girl + Steampunk goggles = ???

"Poster girl for the Apocalypse"

With research mission in mind I jumped on the internet to find more pictures of Tank Girl to find out if I could actually come up with a costume for Halloween in time that incorporates the new goggles. I found pictures of Tank Girl wearing a flight helmet, a fur-lined aviator hat, and a combat helmet. I wanted to go for something I could actually make so I choose the aviator route instead of choosing the hardcore combat helmet.

Well, now what do I do? Do I try to find a pattern for an aviator hat online and sew one? Do I have the time? Maybe there's a video tutorial on YouTube.




Whoa wait, what is this...

Steampunk flight hat?

Wait, from foam? 

I clicked on the video (which you can find here.) and watched with jaw dropped and eyes wide.

It has earpieces, wires and tubing?!
And looks like it's made out of leather?

My internal craft geek exploded into a billion screaming fans of incredibly, awesome things. Yes, I was that excited. I knew what I wanted to make and I was embarking into uncharted craft territory: one of my all-time favorite activities.

I downloaded the pattern from the creator of the video tutorial, LostWax. And I got to work.

So, shall I share with you how it's coming along?
Yes, I think I shall...

Here are pictures of the flight helmet pieces glued together but before paint and earpieces. 

This helmet is held together with rubber cement!

The leathery texture is made by placing a wad of scrunched up aluminum foil onto the craft foam and carefully heating it with an iron. You can watch a tutorial on how to apply this leathery texture to craft foam here. This part took a lot longer than I thought (like, forever). However, it came out so cool looking that it's worth the time and fuss. Once paint is applied you can really see the effect.

Now for the finale, some pictures of the helmet with earpieces added, buckle attached, paint applied, and a spiffy metal plate *winkwink*. I still need to add some wires and tubing, but that's about it and I'll be done and ready to pilot my very own post-apocalyptic airship!

 

"Metal" plate, future home for wires.

Can you believe it's not Leather?

Have a fun and happy Halloween!

Malia & Kaye

Learning | Breadboards

Here's an engineering term for you: breadboard.  What do you think it is?  

I would understand if you guessed that it was a wooden board used for slicing bread.  

Fresh Loaf 5023, 
from Andrew Menage's photostream on Flickr.com. 
Some rights reserved.

But in this case, it isn't. Read on, and I'll get to the explanation, after the definition.

Engineers use the noun breadboard to describe a board used to make an experimental model of an electric circuit.  

It's usually plastic, with a whole bunch of holes in it, like the one in the picture below. 

Portable GPS decoder - breadboard,
from Steve's photostream on Flickr.com.
Some rights reserved.

Breadboard is also used as a verb, meaning to build an experimental circuit.

Learning to Use a Breadboard, from Bryan Kennedy's photostream on Flickr.com.
Some rights reserved.

The use of the word breadboard in this way came from the days when electronic components were much larger.  Electronic hobbyists would actually nail copper wires to a wooden board when they were making prototypes. Some of them actually borrowed their mothers' breadboards from the kitchen to do this. (Shame on them!)

If you're interested in building experimental circuits, you may be interested in some of these books on electronics.

Ms. Suzy Reads | Sam, Bangs & Moonshine

"Moonshine is flummadiddle. Real is the opposite." So explains Bangs, the cat, to Sam, short for Samantha, in the timeless treasure Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness.

Samantha, or rather Sam, has a problem telling the difference between what is real and what is not. She claims to have a mermaid for a mother, a fierce lion, a baby kangaroo and a talking cat. Sam's father admonishes her to tell the truth: "Today, for a change, talk real, not moonshine. Moonshine spells trouble."

And trouble might be just what Sam gets when she sends her friend Thomas to Blue Rock where she claims her baby kangaroo has gone. Thomas dutifully follows instructions, but then a sudden storm threatens everything.

I won't say anymore, except that this is a beautiful little story that gently teaches the reason why truth is better than falsehood. It's appropriate for a family reading time, or for an independent reader to read on his own.  

This book was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1967. The Caldecott Medal is presented annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. Click here for a list of Caldecott Medal winners over the years. SSJCPL branches own most of these distinguished books; check them out and share them with your family!

Just Life| Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite Holidays. I love candies, I love to go costume shopping for my daughter and for sure, I love to give away candies to our neighborhood kids. 

And I am proud to say that I give away good candies. Who wants to get stuck with bad Halloween candies for months right?

Since I love Halloween, we have two Halloween programs at Margaret Troke Library in Stockton. Our address is:502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton.
 
Our Halloween programs are:

• Halloween Preschool Story time & Craft On Tuesday, October 28th at 10:15am. For this program, we are going to read scary stories, and kids can decorate pumpkins to take home. Kids are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes and there will be a costume parade in the library.

• Halloween Arts and Crafts on Thursday, October 30th at 6:00pm. For this program, we are going to have a costume parade, pumpkin decorating, and of course a candy give away.

Hope to see you at Troke on these two days. If you live in another library, click on: Library Event Calendar for more fun programs.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha