Tomes Of Whimsy

 I spent a little time today decorating for Fall and put together this mini swag for above my sink.

 Another one of my favorite hobbies is cross stitch.  I have been stitching since before my daughter was born, so about 13 years.  I have several favorite designers but for this post, I am sharing from Brittercup Designs, specifically the Britty Kitty Monthly Series.  I love these monthly designs, as they are very simple to follow and can be completed in a weekend.  Completing the entire series ensures a pretty piece to adorn your walls year-round!  These kitties are also always marked with a pink heart on their bottom. So cute! For the month of July, I stitched the "Hide -n- Seek" kitty with watermelon pieces.  I used 18 count white Aida fabric and strands from The Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Weeks Dye Works and Crescent Colours.  It took about 15 hours to complete this piece.  I will frame it later, in either a simple white or gold frame.   I have not used these threads in the past and it is recommended to complete each stitch ind...

  In our society, sometimes the very thing that makes each of us unique and special is also the very thing that is launched as an attack against us and, in turn, can create a monster.   Sophie, at a very young age, developed a hemangioma, which scarred her face, making it puffy and swollen, with purple and red bumps, leaving her with a “monster mark”.   Throughout her life, she has been pointed at, laughed at and bullied, both by children and adults alike and has accepted the fact that she is, indeed, a monster.   In an effort to understand curses and her potential magic, and to learn to how to identify other monsters, Sophie is never without her favorite book, The Big Book of Monsters, using it as a shield in front of her face, along with her veil of dark hair, covering her cursed mark. As new residents in Portland, Oregon, Sophie and her mom are both embarking on a new adventure, with big changes and scary challenges for each.   Uniquely told alongside pag...

  As I was scrolling through Pintrest one day, looking for ideas for Christmas gifts and decorations, I ran across a post for a DIY snow globe.  The snow globe contained mini books completed for that year. I believe the creator completed 70 books that year and it looked really cute. I looked at it for a while and it occurred to me that I could probably turn this idea into an ornament for all of the students in Tome Society this year.  Since the kids only read 10 books each year, I knew there was a way to make it happen. Here's what I needed: 50 mm fillable ornament balls - the ones that have two parts Cardstock Red and Green color paper Elmer's double sided tape runner Pretty ribbon White oil-based paint pen Here is what I did: Found images of each book on Goodreads or Amazon and copied to my computer. Added each book image into a Word document and sized down to 67%. Printed the book images onto cardstock (it took 2 pages for each set of books). Cut out the tiny books (th...

When her brother, Danny, takes his own life, his sister, Maybelline struggles to deal with the racist accusations launched against her Chinese Taiwanese American family by a parent from her high school. May, reeling from her incredible loss, is now stunned to realize that Asians are being blamed for not only Danny's suicide, but the four previous suicides over the past year and a half between the two high schools in her area. As more parents speak about the amount of pressure and stress Asians place on their children, May, moved by anger and preserving Danny's memory, responds with a poem which is published by the local newspaper. As a string of events begin to unravel after her poem is printed, May is confronted with the truth of racism; what it means, how it is displayed, how others are affected and the direct impact it may have on her family. How far is she willing to go to stop the accusations? What is she willing to sacrifice to have her voice heard? I would not recommen...

Today, I am taking a little break from reading to complete a coloring page I have been working on for a while.  I used Black Widow colored pencils for all base color, shadows and highlights.  These premium wax-colored pencils come in 7 sets including Black Widow, Scorpion, Cobra, Dragon, Monarch, Light Tones and Dark Tones.  These vivid colors lay down and blend easily.  I love using these pencils for skin tones, as there are many combinations that can be created for all skin tones. They also offer a palette perfect for fantasy pages!  This page is from the Magic Autumn Halloween Grayscale coloring book with artworks by Alena Lazareva and the book has two sets of illustrations, so you can color with a friend or create two completely different styles of your own!

  Anna is a normal high school student who makes good grades and wins races on her cross-country team.   She has a good group of friends, loves shopping at thrift shops, and attends a few parties, but overall, she is pretty average.   All of this changes one late August afternoon, as she is running with her teammates, shortly before her sophomore year is set to begin.   As she runs, her feet become lighter, her pace faster, and she begins leaping, rather than running.   As the first cross-country meet grows closer, Anna begins craving sugar, feels energy pulsing all around her and cannot sleep.   These strange symptoms become painful, and during the race, that is her only focus.   Feeling her muscles fading, and the pain attacking her arches, bones and tendons, and to the astonishment to her teammates, Anna blacks out. After an ER visit and being sent to a specialist, Anna learns that she has a rare disease called lepidopsy, which causes symptoms simil...