She's Crafty | More Fun With Felt

This cute little guy is Fred.

Say, "Hello!" Fred...

Fred the Fox is a new furry friend I needle felted with the aid of a kit. You can read more about Fred's origin story in this post, Needle Felting.

It took me quite a few pokes of my felting needle to get a feel for this technique and I am grateful that we had the book, Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Fuzzy Felted Friends by Saori Yamazaki available for checkout. Without Fuzzy Felted Friends, I would have had a tough time troubleshooting a few issues I faced while making Fred.

I also checked YouTube for some tips and tricks and found some really amazing tutorials there. The one below is a favorite. The YouTube channel Gypsy Felting has many great needle felting videos along with other felting techniques as well.

Needle felting is a lot of fun and there are a LOT of things you can make with this technique. I've seen needle felted scarves, hats, purses, paintings--yes paintings--really, anything goes.

Continuing the felt theme, let me tell you about felties or felt plushies.

A few years back I got into making hand-embroidered felt dolls, which a lot of crafters refer to as felties or in a more general sense as being a soft doll, plushies. They are incredibly cute and incredibly easy, or potentially incredibly easy, and the patterns are fairly easy to find. Most of the patterns I look for myself are really simple. For me, the simplicity of the design is part of the charm.

Dinosaur felties of the internet!

The felties I go nuts for making are fairly flat, with just a hint of three-dimensional shaping, if any. The shape that you cut out of your flat piece of felt is usually the entire outline of your doll. Contrasting thread is often, but not always, used to highlight the stitching instead of trying to hide it. Before the last few stitches are made, a bit of stuffing is added.

Meet Foxy and Raccoon. Photo by katejf. Some rights reserved.

Felt is one of my favorite mediums to play with. It's fairly cheap to purchase, easy to work with, and can do so many very cool things! Give felt a try in your next project. 

Here's a short list of what we have at the library having to do with the wonderful world of felt:

• Hand Felted Jewelry and Beads by Carol Huber Cypher
• Sewing With Felt by Buff McAllister
• Really Cool Felt Crafts by Peg Blanchette
• Fabulous Felt Crafts by Katherine Duncan-Aimone
• The Art of Feltmaking by Anne Einset Vickrey

Looky here, I even found a few books about making felties through Link+:

• Zodiac Felties by Nicola Tedman
• Zombie Felties also by Nicola Tedman

And this one you can get from one of our branches:

• The Cute Book by Aranzi Aronzo Inc.

Well, I hope you are enjoying your summer and keeping cool! Don't forget to come on down to your local branch and pick up your Every Hero Has a Story Summer Reading Challenge log, catch a program, find out what your town is doing for the summer, and find your next fantastic summer story to read. We want to help you have an awesome summer!

You can find out more information about the Summer Reading Challenge by clicking here.

Malia

Just Life| A Cinderella Story

Once upon a time, in a library far far away, a handsome young prince left his shoe on a shelf to be found by his true love.....

At least that is the story that came to mind when I came across this single tennis shoe on our lost & found shelf last week.

I giggled profusely when I saw it. Who would leave the library without a shoe?

So the Cinderella story came to mind. The true story behind this shoe is a mystery and so far, no one has claimed the shoe.
 
So, I am sticking to my Cinderella fairy tale and that is the end of today's story.
 

And here are some books on this topic from your local library:

• Cinderella Man : James J. Braddock, Max Baer, and the greatest upset in boxing history

• Cinderella

• Cinderella [DVD videorecording]

 
Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

Just Life| Yeah, Summer is here !

When I was a kid, I loved summer vacation. I loved sleeping in. I loved visiting my cousin who lived next to the Caspian sea. Best of all, I had plenty of time for reading my beloved books instead of being forced to read boring text books.

My uncle had a set of encyclopedia in his library that I spent hours reading whenever we visited them. My cousin Safa, had this set of French comic books called Adventures of Asterix. We spent hours reading and rereading those comics. 

Beside The Adventures of Tin Tin, these were my favorite comics.

www.asterix.com

Alas, during the long summer months, kids lose some of their academic skills.

The Summer reading program at your local library is an effective way of combating this problem.

At your Stockton & San Joaquin County Public Libraries, for the month of June and July, kids, teens, and even adults are invited to participate in the summer reading challenge.

The aim of the summer reading challenge is to help kids and teens have easier transitions in upcoming school year. 

Children are challenged to read 10 books over the summer. They would get a book bag and a book mark for just signing up for the summer reading challenge. After reading 10 books, kids would receive:

• A free book
• A Stockton Ports baseball ticket 
• A chance to win a Kindle

For teens and adults, they only need to read three books and they need to write a short review about the book. Then they would receive:

• A free book
• A Stockton Ports baseball ticket 
• A chance to win a Kindle

 

Stockton & San Joaquin County Public Libraries also have numerous entertaining and educational free summer programs for everyone to enjoy.

Serpentarium visited the Troke Library

I encourage adults to participate in this Summer reading challenge. You are role models for your children and everyone knows that kids imitate their parents.

Here are a few examples of our fun summer programs at Margaret Troke Library in Stockton:

Serpentarium visited the Troke Library

Summer Reading Kickoff Party:

Thursday, June 4th, 6:00pm . Clowns are coming to the library to make fancy balloons for children of all ages. Light refreshments will be provided.

Jungle James Animal Adventures:

Thursday, Jun. 11, 6:00pm. Upclose look at exotic animals from all around the world

Piccolo Puppet Show:

Thursday, Jun. 25, 6:00pm

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

Just Life| Charles are you listening?

So here I was in the Children Room at the Cesar Chavez Library last Monday.

The room was unusually quiet and there was a lady sitting on a chair reading quietly to this little boy. He was about two-years-old.

The little boy was just walking around and exploring his surroundings but he was actively listening to the story that his caregiver was reading to him.

Every once in a while, the lady would look up and asked the little boy-I am going to call him Charles,: " Charles are you listening?"

And Charles would answer back every time with his cute baby talk as if he was saying: " Yes, I am listening. Please keep on reading."

And this interaction went on and on for a good ten minutes.

She was actively making this little boy smarter by just reading to him.

We all have to join forces to increase the literacy rate in the San Joaquin county.

Please read to your child as often as possible. 

Here are some famous quotes on  this topic from www.readingrockets.org

• Today a reader, tomorrow a leader." — Margaret Fuller

• I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library." — Jorge Luis Borges

• Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks." — Dr. Seuss

And if you ever doubt the true power of reading, I dare you to read this book:


Reading magic : why reading aloud to our children will change their lives forever 


Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

She's Crafty | Needle felting

The last few days I've been taking a sharp, barbed needle and poking it into fluffs of unspun wool. I'm trying my hardest not to poke myself more than once, since it has already happened, but not exactly confident that it won't since the tip of the needle I'm using is so dang sneaky.

I got a needle felting kit as a gift and it will be my first time felting anything with a needle. I've wet-felted knit projects before with soap, water, and my own two mitts, but this will be the first time I poke wool with a sharp instrument to attach wool blobs together. When I'm done I hope to have what resembles a fox and not a unidentifiable mound of tri-color wool. Crossing fingers!

Just Life| Lafayette statue

It was a cold December afternoon in Paris. It was getting dark and I couldn't find a taxi for us to get to the hotel so we were walking briskly along the Seine River hoping to get to our hotel before dark.

As we were walking, we noticed a monument right next to the sidewalk. It was the statue of a man on a horse. There was a plaque and it said that the statue was a gift from the American school children to France. The statue was depicting Lafayette.

Picture from www.waymarking.com

Since it was getting dark, we didn't linger too long. I told myself that I should look up the history behind it. Three years later, I am still trying to find out some more info about that statue.

Picture from www.waymarking.com

I came across a New York Times article dating back to July 5, 1900 that was referring to the unveiling of this statue in Paris on July 4th, 1900 in Paris.

The ceremony was attended by the French President and the American Ambassador. 2000 people attended this event.

"The monument was unveiled by two boys representing school children of France and America." One of the children was no other than Lafayette's great grandson.

I also came across this article from the Chicago Tribune dating January 20, 1954 referring to this statue saying that it was purchased by collecting pennies and small changes from the American School children. 

According to this article, the statue was " a gesture of gratitude to France for her gift of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor."

Five million American school children donated to this cause. The statue was the work of the American sculptor Paul Wayland Bartlett.

Ari in front the statue of Lafayette.

This statue is located on the right bank of the Seine, between Bridge Alexander III and the Bridge Des Invalids.

I still don't know who started this idea but that was for sure a great gesture.

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

She's Crafty | The Steampunk User's Manual

Steampunk is a topic I can endlessly spend time thinking about...

Steampunk Time Contraption by Don Urban. Some rights reserved.

Pulled Crystal by Tracy B. Some rights reserved.

Steampunk novel, The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack
(Available through Link+) by Mark Hodder.

Can you really blame me? Even when I just get a glimpse of something remotely steampunk I start dreaming about fantastical gadgets, wondrous accessories, and mysterious characters who jump through time and invent the perfect tool for every job.

Imagine my delight when I came across The Steampunk User's Manual: An Illustrated Practical and Whimsical Guide to Creating Retro-Futurist Dreams by Jeff VanderMeer and Desirina Boskovich! This beautiful tome is a comprehensive guide to the w-o-r-l-d of Steampunk, the whole shebang.

From steampunk two-dimensional art and jewelry accessories to chai cycles and robo-penguins; storytelling, music, and stage performance to large scale installations, architecture, and interior design. This book is an absolute feast for the eyes and mind. Not only does Steampunk User's Manual showcase magnificent work that will inspire and delight--you get an idea of what goes on behind the scenes of some of the featured pieces as artist's talk about creating their signature projects.

Though you do not need to be a DIYer to appreciate this book, those who are willing to push their craft to the next level or have a heavy DIY background can take inspiration from the User's Manual to help them create their own work.


More steampunk craft and art books:

• Steampunk: The Art of Victorian Futurism by Jay Strongman
• The Steampunk Bible by Jeff VanderMeer
• How to Draw Steampunk by Bob Berry
• The Art of Steampunk by Art Donovan
• 1000 Steampunk Creations by Dr. Grymm
• Steampunk-style Jewelry by Jean Campbell

Steampunk as a genre of fiction can be found in all age groups. What follows is merely a taste of what we have available for checkout and is by no means a complete bibliography of all our steampunk titles...

Picture books for children:

• Professor Whiskerton Presents Steampunk ABC by Lisa Falkenstern
• Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
• The Boy Who Stopped Time by Anthony Taber

"P is for Periscope."

  Chapter books for children:

• The Expeditioners and the Treasure of Drowned Man's Canyon by Sarah Stewart Taylor.
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznik
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

Teen fiction is bursting with steampunk titles and series:

• The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick
• Joe Golem and the Drowning City by Michael Mignola
• Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories
• Leviathan, Behemoth, and Goliath by Scott Westerfeld.
• Fever Crumb, A Web of Air, and Scrivener's Moon by Philip Reeve.
• Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Don't even get me started on what's available for adults!

Okay, maybe just a few:

• Communion Town by Sam Thompson
• Phoenix Rising by Philippa Ballantine
• Perdido Street Station by China Miéville
• Clockwork Angels by Kevin Anderson
• Steampunk'd by Various
• Ghosts by Gaslight by Various
• The Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger

Malia